Hills Spar Carlisle, Hoch Group, c Google Earth

Included in the deal is the Hills forecourt at Corby Hill. Credit: Google Earth

Hoch Group to sell £28.6m Cumbrian forecourts

13 April 2026 10:33 Julia Hatmaker Comments ()

Roadside Real Estate has announced its intent to acquire the Carlisle-based company’s entire Hills petrol station portfolio.

The family-run Hoch Group operates 12 Hills forecourts and one convenience store – most of which are located in Cumbria. Locations include Corby Hill, Coniston, Carlisle, Whitehaven, Ambleside, Penrith, Workington, and Stainburn.

Hoch Group reported a total revenue of £68.8m for the year ending March 2025. That same financial year report shared that its assets had a gross value of £13.7m.

Roadside said that it would purchase the Hoch Group and its portfolio for £28.6m, more than doubling its own forecourt portfolio. This deal would see Roadside in charge of 20 sites, a move that the Roadside board said would “unlock additional value through development-led capital investment, supporting sustainable, long-term cashflow generation,” in a stock exchange statement.

Roadside chief executive officer Charles Dickson said: “This transaction represents the next step of the Roadside journey to build a scalable, energy forecourt and convenience retail business in the UK.

“Hoch Group is a high-quality portfolio with unrealised potential and underscores management’s commitment to creating shareholder value through the identification and delivery of operational and financial synergies derived from a scaled portfolio.”

To fund the £28.6m acquisition, Roadside will enter into a £25m revolving credit facility, with an additional £10m accordion facility, with HSBC. It will also engage in a drawdown under its existing debt facility with Tarncourt.

The deal is expected to complete in May.