Crown Oil eyes £200m turnover

BURY-based oil and energy group Crown says it is on track for revenues of £200m in the year to August.

The family business, established 60 years ago, supplies homes and businesses.

Income has jumped from £157m last year when the company filed pre-tax profits of £3.8m, down 7%. It has not given a profit forecast for the past year’s trading.

Increased revenue reflects a period of expansion for the group which saw it open a depot in Doncaster in 2011 and its first depot in the south earlier last year to service London. It has since opened another in east London and is planning more.

Managing director Matthew Greensmith said: “What is encouraging is that the growth has been mostly organic. We did acquire the brand and key intellectual property of the Burnley fuel and lubricant distributor Samuel Cooke & Co last year, but this has been just one element in the picture.  

“All our divisions are performing well and this is a tribute to our staff and the service ethic that drives the business. We are really a service business that just happens to sell oil.”

He added: “This [the east London depot] is already profitable, so we plan to expand coverage still further via our own depots and a network of other independent fuel distributors allowing us to give complete nationwide service.”

Staff numbers have grown from 130 to 200 since last year.