Applegreen M1 opening grabs the headlines

The opening of Applegreen’s new M1 motorway service station on Thursday has made the headlines across NI.

The new station includes a branch of Greggs, Burger King, and Subway and brings the number of Applegreens in NI to three.

Both the Irish forecourt brand’s other Northern Irish sites, M2 Northbound, and its station on the A26 outside Ballymena, have proved popular with motorists.

However, excitement and interest over its latest site outside Lisburn has sparked traffic chaos among commuters headed south on Friday morning.

The service station – located between the Black’s Road junction and the Saintfield Road junction at Lisburn – also managed to grab headlines in Northern Irish press, with most of the region’s main news outlets reporting on the station’s soft opening.

The new site is being managed by award-winning former Swift’s Eurospar manager Darren Given.

The opening comes within days of Applegreen acquiring its 68th UK forecourt, in Bath, located on the southbound carriageway of the A36 from Bath to Beckington.

Applegreen UK managing director Michael O’Loughlin said the company was constantly on the lookout for acquisitions and he hoped to complete another purchase this week.

The public limited company will be announcing its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2015 on Monday 14 March.