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About Us
Samy Limited was established in 2009 and has over this period grown to become one of the UK’s leading independent retail operators of convenience forecourts & stand-alone stores. The business currently operates or manages directly 32 convenience stores or forecourts.
Samy Limited is not a corporate retailer and we are proud of our independence which we believe is a key strength that allows us to respond to our customer and local markets. Our stores & forecourts operate and trade under a variety of fascia’s or brands that are appropriate to each of the catchments & location they serve. Our independence and that retail flexibility allows us to build on that competitive advantage
At present, within the Samy Limited portfolio we trade as Budgens, Spar, Londis & Premier. Our ambition is to become a national operator but as we grow we are currently focussing our attention on Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, the Midlands and South Yorkshire as well as the North East & Tyneside. In each location, we operate we have a reputation for building sales in each of the opportunities we have converted & brought across to our Group.
As a business, our growth phase only really commenced in earnest 2013 and since then we have grown modestly at a rate of only 1 or 2 stores per annum. Prior to that Samy Limited were focussed on building the business’s reputation for customer service & quality as a commission forecourt operator. This drive allowed us to build our brand to 16 within the Cambridge & Colchester area. Our ambition is to increase our business within the existing areas of operation to c100 stores within the next 3-5 years.
In 2012, Samy Limited opened our first truly ‘independent’ forecourt store at Tudor lodge service station in Middlesbrough. This has proved to be a huge success. Through a combination of investment in people & good retail standards, we have been successful in increasing weekly fuel sales by 260% & average weekly shop sales by 280%.
In late 2018, through the growth & increasing strength of the business we were able to begin to look at corporate acquisitions. During that period Samy Limited acquired & converted two former Central England Stores to the Budgens fascia in Leicester & Birmingham and the sales performance in both has been extremely encouraging.
During 2019, we were able to undertake a complex portfolio acquisition & conversion of 8 trading stores from the Sainsbury’s Store Limited to the Budgens fascia. These stores are located predominately in Yorkshire & the North East and provide Samy Limited with a solid base for growth. This was entirely funded through equity from the business. Whilst it is early days in the transition we are encouraged both by the enthusiasm of the colleagues who chose to TUPE across and join our journey as well as the sales performance as we look to build our presence & reputation in these areas.
As we are a relatively young Company who operate a flat, open structure where talent & hard work is recognised and has an opportunity to shape our business and it culture. We value local experience & knowledge which is a cornerstone of independent retailing as we have the flexibility to respond to local demand and shape our offer accordingly.
We currently have over 180 colleagues within the team and the Companies current annual turnover (excluding our fuel sales etc.) is in excess of £22 million.
Although we are a young, small Company, Samy Limited is committed to creating one of the UK’s most dynamic, customer focussed, performance and learning-driven organisations for our colleagues where the best and brightest work together to create a responsible, respectful and delightful working environment. Our customer experience & offer are key but all our colleagues at the various stores are playing a key part in the success of that journey.
The recent acquisition and integration of these stores into the Group has given us the appetite & experience, notwithstanding the financial strength to take on further portfolio acquisitions as and when they may arise.