Why do prices at motorway service areas sometimes seem so high?
We operate in a very different environment to most other retailers and once you see the costs of providing the facilities and services, the prices soon start to make sense. Despite the high cost of supplying these services, our commitment is to give our customers value for money at all times.
Here are some examples of what affects our prices:
Expensive to build
In addition to the buildings, we also have to build roads, car parks, street lighting etc. – an average site costs £25 million to build.
Expensive to operate
We are open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year and for around half of that time we have to pay to be open (employee wages, power etc) when we are taking very little money and customers can use car parks, picnic areas, showers, washrooms etc. all for free.
We can’t advertise on the motorway
Regulations mean that we can’t advertise on the motorway, so we have to rely on people simply turning in which affects how much business we get.