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Number of petrol stations in the United Kingdom (UK) 2000-2023
The United Kingdom is home to 8,353 operational petrol stations and those under development. Numbers have fallen by over 36 percent since 2000. 2013 is the only year recorded here which shows a year-on-year increase. As of 2022, the UK was among the leading ten European countries by number of petrol stations, while Italy ranks first with over 20,000 service stations.
Ownership by brand
British multinational oil and gas firm Shell operates the second greatest number of forecourts. BP, ESSO, and Shell are the only companies to operate more than 1,000 sites. Of the so-called hypermarket-owned petrol stations, Tesco offers the most stations, at 512 as of December 2023. Despite owning fewer petrol stations, hypermarket retailers sold a greater volume of fuel, accounting for approximately 58.7 percent of fuel sold in the UK as of 2023.
Petrol prices
Between 2016 and 2020, prices for premium unleaded petrol increased by some 18 percent. During this period, prices ranged from a low of 101.4 pence per liter in February 2016, to a high of 130.9 pence per liter in October 2018. Fuel prices are largely impacted by the price of crude oil and, in fact, saw a decline in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.