UK petrol stations rescued by rival

The Save purchase will triple Anglo's presence in the UK filling station market

The owner of the UK Repsol filling station chain has beaten off competition from African and Continental firms to purchase failed petrol station firm Save Group, BBC News Online has learned.

Anglo Petroleum has, after weeks of wrangling, won the auction for Save's 423 outlets, administrators Ernst & Young have confirmed.

The purchase, reported to have been sealed for about £50m, will more than triple Anglo's presence in the UK petrol station market.

A formal announcement on the deal, which was sealed on Wednesday, is expected to be made on Monday.

Competitive market

Save, Britain's largest independent petrol retailer, collapsed in March after a refinancing deal was rejected by Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds TSB.

The firm, which employed 4,000 people at the time administrators were called in, had struggled to survive in a market which has become increasingly competitive.

Retailers such as Safeway and Tesco have opened their own pumps, and oil giants have operated discounting policies.

Although Save achieved a profit in the first six months of last year, the fuel crisis in September and October, when petrol deliveries were severely disrupted, is reported to have affected sales severely.

Companies including the Libyan National Oil Corporation, Russia's Lukoil and Holland's Petroplus joined in the bidding war for Save, reports said.

Larger oil firms are said to have been put off by the small area of most of the Save sites.

Key deal

Anglo's purchase comes two years after it was formed, following the buyout by Bermuda-based Sutton Oil of Repsol's UK fuel business.

The Anglo chain is currently focused on the north west of England and the Midlands, with major depots in Liverpool and Stoke.

The Save Group purchase has been completed by Anglo's AOT oil trading arm.