AN INVESTMENT company controlled by Alasdair Locke, the executive chairman of Abbot Group, and seven directors from two property-development firms, has agreed a deal to lease 45 petrol stations to Murco Petroleum.
The move comes just a few months after Mr Locke and the seven directors – all from either Unicorn Property Group or Scottish Capital Group – made their first acquisition through investment vehicle Leopard No.2 Investments.
In September, Leopard – backed by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – acquired five petrol stations in West Lothian. These were subsequently leased to Murco, a petrol retailing subsidiary of US-based Murphy Oil.
Leopard added to its assets last month via the near-£52million acquisition from GNER Group of filling station business Petrol Express, which had outlets trading under the BP, Texaco and Esso brands.
The new leasing agreement involves filling stations throughout southern England, the Midlands and Wales. Murco is taking the 45 sites on 26-year terms. Tim Allan of Leopard Investments said yesterday: “The deal we have since reached with Murco is good news for both parties,”
Colin Anderson, head of corporate development and property finance at RBS Corporate Banking in Aberdeen, which backed the Petrol Express acquisition with £43million of funding, said: “The individuals involved in Leopard are all hugely experienced businessmen and together they have considerable collective expertise in both the oil and property sectors.
“We are delighted to be backing such a group and welcome the deal that has been reached with Murco, a company which has an impressive track record of operating in this sector.”