Aleef focuses on owning petrol stations
BOLTON-based petrol station and newsagent chain Aleef saw sales fall by £6m last year after deciding to relinquish forecourts it managed for oil firms.
In latest filed accounts for Aleef Garages covering the 12 months to April the group said the decision, which it took at the end of the 2008-09 year, has enabled it to focus on the more lucrative owned sites.
The decision failed to dent pre-tax profits which rose 8% to £1m on sales of £92.5m, down 6%.
In their report the directors described the year as “stable” and said fuel volumes were under pressure but held up due to oil company initiatives. Shop sales benefited from investment in previous years.
“The future remains challenging due to the ever increasing crude oil prices and the current economic climate,” said the report. “But we stand in a good position due to having strong brands and excellent retail discipline.”
The report did not say how many petrol stations had been returned to oil companies but the move contributed to a fall in staff numbers from 400 to 280.
Three former Aleef directors, Mustaq, Iqbal and Mubarakali Patel, were jailed in 2007 after pulling off a £5m tax fraud. They each received three years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to cheat the Inland Revenue at Liverpool Crown Court.
A younger generation of the firm has since taken it on, headed by directors Anis, Abid and Asif Patel. They are the owners of a new holding company, Synergie Holdings, incorporated in March 2008. Accounts for Synergie show sales fell to £92.5m from £115m in the 14-month period to April. Pre-tax profits were down 22% to £400,000. The holding company has bank borrowings of £7m.
