Roadchef Hands 12 Forecourts to BP as Ultra-Fast Charging Deal Targets 30+ Motorway Sites

Roadchef has struck a wide-ranging agreement with BP covering electric vehicle charging, fuel retail and convenience offerings along the UK motorway network, with BP Pulse’s ultra-fast chargers set to appear at more than 30 Roadchef service areas starting in 2027.

The arrangement cuts both ways. Roadchef will take over the operation of 12 BP forecourts, which will keep selling BP-branded fuels alongside the company’s wildbean cafe format. In return, BP gains access to Roadchef’s motorway footprint to accelerate the rollout of its BP Pulse high-power charging network.

For Roadchef chief executive Tim Gittins, the tie-up is a direct response to the UK’s shift toward zero-emission motoring. Motorway service areas, he argued, are set to carry a disproportionate share of the burden when it comes to en-route charging availability, and the deal should make plugging in easier for drivers using the operator’s sites. He also framed the forecourt transfer as a way to deepen Roadchef’s fuel and food proposition for both leisure travellers and HGV drivers, giving the business the scale it needs to keep pace with rising charging demand.

The agreement builds on an existing charging push by Roadchef. In October 2024 the company set out plans to install 650 new fast-charging points across its motorway service stations, part of a wider infrastructure programme backed by a £20 billion package assembled by financial services group Macquarie. A year before that, Gridserve and Roadchef had already begun work on so-called Electric Super Hubs at six UK locations, collectively hosting more than 50 EV chargers.

Roadchef’s stated ambition is to reach 1,000 charging bays by 2030, a target the BP Pulse collaboration is intended to support. Jo Hayward, who leads mobility and convenience retail in the UK for bp, described the partnership as an extension of an already solid fuel supply relationship, with the two firms now pooling their offers so drivers can find what they need when and where they need it on a journey. For BP Pulse, the deal adds another cluster of high-traffic motorway locations at a time when charge point operators are racing to secure the most strategically placed sites on the UK’s long-distance road network.