Sir Gerald Ronson’s forecourt empire has delivered a document revenue, with the property tycoon’s service station enterprise now valued at greater than £1.5bn.
GMR Capital, the mother or father of petrol forecourt operator Rontec, reported pre-tax earnings of £98.4m for the 12 months to the top of September, up 6 per cent on the earlier yr and surpassing its earlier peak of £95.7m in 2022.
The document got here regardless of revenues slipping 7.7 per cent to £1.56bn, reflecting what the corporate described as a “difficult financial atmosphere” and cautious client spending.
Rontec, which operates 267 service stations throughout the UK, stated rising prices, greater employer nationwide insurance coverage contributions and dwelling wage obligations had squeezed margins. Nevertheless, decrease curiosity repayments, as borrowing prices eased over the yr, helped increase profitability.
The group described the interval as “one other profitable yr”, extending a protracted monitor document of resilience. GMR has recorded losses solely thrice prior to now three many years, with its most up-to-date annual loss courting again to 2009.
In 2025, property agent Colliers revalued Rontec’s actual property property at £1.51bn, a rise of £318m. The uplift was attributed partly to funding in website enhancements and partly to broader business property beneficial properties as rates of interest fell.
Rontec has been investing closely in modernising its property. The corporate is halfway via refurbishing its Store’N Drive comfort shops and has upgraded its Subway franchises. Its food-to-go provide continues to develop, together with 43 franchised shops of Greggs.
The group has additionally earmarked tens of thousands and thousands of kilos for ultra-fast electrical car charging hubs. Six forecourts at present host the chargers, with one other six deliberate, though rollout has been slowed by delays in securing high-capacity grid connections and uncertainty within the EV market.
Ronson, 86, who launched self-service petrol stations to the UK within the Nineteen Sixties, has beforehand described Rontec as his “f*** you” enterprise due to its skill to generate money via financial cycles.
Higher identified publicly for landmark developments such because the 46-storey Heron Tower within the Metropolis of London, Ronson additionally served six months in jail within the Nineties for his function within the Guinness share-trading scandal.
He stays chairman of GMR, along with his spouse Gail and daughters Nicole and Lisa additionally serving on the board.
Firm accounts present Ronson spent £164,000 chartering the corporate jet through the yr, together with £82,000 on use of a company-owned yacht. The yacht was subsequently bought for £2m to an organization owned by his spouse.
Regardless of headwinds in client spending and better working prices, Ronson’s forecourt empire has as soon as once more demonstrated its skill to generate document returns — reinforcing its fame as one in all Britain’s most resilient non-public enterprise empires.
