Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8) is expanding heavily in the development of its European network following its acquisition of 75 service stations from U Car Services and VP Oil, both part of Liège, Belgium-based Uhoda Group, with the acquisition to lead Q8’s network to a 15 percent hike to 540 stations.
Q8’s acquisitions include stations are mainly situated in the provinces of Liege and Limburg provinces in eastern Belgium —of which latter has not been as heavily populated with the network’s stations until now. Of Q8’s 540 stations in Belgium, 325 are manned, 215 are unmanned, 126 are co-hosted with the Shop and Go chain, and another 122 stand with Panos stores. Executive vice president of marketing at Kuwait Petroleum International, Azzam Al Muttawa, said the expanded network was a “result of cross-departmental teamwork”, adding: “This is the way forward in the 2040 strategy; to anchor and strengthen our presence in Europe.”
Sixty-five of the 75 newly acquired stations are currently operating under different brand names, and in the months to come, most are expected to undergo a rebranding exercise to ensure their consistency with the Q8 house style, Kuwait’s local agency announced. “This significantly larger network is part of our stronger focus, [with] more mobility products and services,” said Fadel Al-Faraj, managing director of Kuwait Petroleum International for the northwest Europe region. The acquisition is subject to, among other precedent conditions, the agreement of the Belgian Competition Authority, which is expected in the coming months.
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