Roadchef

Roadchef was founded in July 1973 as a joint venture between Lindley Catering Investments and Galleon World Travel, with the first Roadchef opening at Killington Lake Services on the M6.{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=David |author-link= |date=1999 |title=Always a Welcome: The Glove Compartment History of the Motorway Service Area |url= |location= |publisher=Between Books |page=74 |isbn=0953698009}}

By 1998, Roadchef had built a portfolio of 21 sites. A large expansion occurred in 1998 when Roadchef agreed to purchase Blue Boar Group and Take A Break for a total of £80{{nbsp}}million, gaining the company an extra four services plus one under-construction site.

In September 2014, it was announced that owners Delek Group were selling Roadchef to Antin Infrastructure Partners for £153{{nbsp}}million.{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delek-group-roadchef-idUKKBN0H906Y20140914|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122072502/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delek-group-roadchef-idUKKBN0H906Y20140914|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 January 2018|title=Delek Group to sell Britain's Roadchef for $250 million|date=14 September 2014|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|access-date=21 February 2016}}

In 1986, Patrick Gee, the managing director of the company, set up an employee benefit scheme to give ordinary workers shares in the company. After Gee's early death, Timothy Ingram Hill took over as Roadchef's managing director, having helped lead a management buyout of the company in 1983. With his status as one of the original trustees of the employee benefit scheme, he set up a second scheme where he was the sole beneficiary, and secretly transferred the bulk of the employees' shares to it.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pettfranklin.com/news/roadchef-decision.html|title = Roadchef Decision – Pett Franklin}} This left employees with a much reduced scheme.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-31750485|title = Roadchef whistleblower's 17-year share battle|work = BBC News|date = 6 March 2015}}

Tim Warwick, who worked as Roadchef's company secretary at the time of the transfer, blew the whistle on the Ingram Hill's transfer of the shares in 1998. A prolonged legal battle ensued, with the courts eventually declaring the transaction void in 2015 and ordered Ingram Hill to repay the profit he made from the shares he appropriated.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/roadchef-workers-win-legal-fight-for-shares-after-20-years-10016119.html|title=Roadchef workers win legal fight for shares after 20 years |website=independent.co.uk|date=31 January 2015 }}

Issues arose afterwards, when the trustees of the scheme discovered that an extra £10{{nbsp}}million had been paid in tax for the shares by Ingram Hill and was thus due to be given to them. This money was recovered by the trustees, but the HMRC insisted that most of the tax should be paid by the trustees, due to Ingram Hill possessing the shares instead of the employees when the government passed legislation to make employee share schemes tax-free.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54025566?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business&link_location=live-reporting-story|title=Roadchef shares scandal widow demands action by UK government|work=BBC News|date=5 September 2020}} The trustees argued that the shares should not be taxed, as the scheme should be in the tax-free category if Ingram Hill had not appropriated the shares. The trustees further argued that the scheme could be retrospectively added to the list of tax-free schemes.

By July 2019, the ongoing dispute with HMRC was the only remaining obstacle in distributing the money to the affected employees, with the current Roadchef management expressing support for the trustees.{{Cite web| title=Top executive reward levelling off | url=http://www.esopcentre.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2019/06/newspad-July-2019-1.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707161856/http://www.esopcentre.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2019/06/newspad-July-2019-1.pdf | archive-date=2019-07-07}} {{As of|2020|8}}, the money had not been distributed back to the staff.

Roadchef motorway service areas have varying facilities. All sites provide two hours free parking, toilets and food 24 hours a day, seven days a week.{{cite web|url=https://www.roadchef.com/hgv|title=hgv}}

Restaurants at Roadchef sites include:

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

• McDonald's
• Costa Coffee
• LEON
• Pret A Manger
• Chozen Noodle
• Fresh Food Cafe
• Coco Di Mama
• The Garden Square Deli
• The Breakfast Kitchen

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Shop brands include:

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

• WHSmith
• SPAR
• Cotton Traders

}}

{{location map+|United Kingdom motorways

|float=right

|width=420

|places=

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Annandale Water|position=left|lat=55.219444|long=-3.409444|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{raise|Bothwell}}|position=left|lat=55.81357|long=-4.06221|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Catterick|position=right|lat=54.37991|long=-1.64972|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{raise|Chester}}|position=left|lat=53.26478|long=-2.80355|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Clacket Lane|position=top|lat=51.271076|long=0.038789|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Durham|lat=54.728943|long=-1.524508|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{nowrap|Folkestone}}|position=bottom|lat=51.0949484|long=1.0443382|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{lower|Hamilton}}|position=right|lat=55.786944|long=-4.034167|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{nowrap|Killington Lake}}|position=left|lat=54.314355|long=-2.635263|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Magor|position=right|lat=51.58786|long=-2.83713|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Maidstone|position=bottom|lat=51.266944|long=0.614167|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{lower|Northampton}}|position=right|lat=52.209201|long=-0.944799|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{nowrap|Norton Canes}}|position=left|lat=52.6643|long=-1.9688|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{nowrap|Pont Abraham}}|position=left|lat=51.747475|long=-4.065935|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{lower|Rownhams}}|lat=50.95833|long=-1.44894|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{lower|Sandbach}}|position=left|lat=53.13987|long=-2.33665|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Sedgemoor|lat=51.2689|long=-2.9215|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Stafford|position=right|lat=52.88436|long=-2.17083|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Strensham|position=left|lat=52.057307|long=-2.141718|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Taunton Deane|lat=50.976477|long=-3.146572|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label=Tibshelf|position=right|lat=53.13708|long=-1.33179|mark=Red pog.svg}}

{{Location map~|United Kingdom motorways|label={{raise|Watford Gap}}|position=right|lat=52.3069|long=-1.1226|mark=Red pog.svg}}

|caption=Roadchef motorway service areas

}}

Roadchef operate the following motorway services:

• Annandale Water (A74(M))
• Bothwell (M74 southbound)
• Catterick (A1(M)) - approved in July 2022{{cite news |last1=Minting |first1=Stuart |title=McDonalds may open at A1(M) eaterie hotspot |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=20 August 2022 |page=11|issn=0140-0460}}
• Chester (M56)
• Clacket Lane (M25)
• Durham (A1(M))
• Folkestone services (M20){{cite news|url=https://www.roadchef.com/news/roadchef-transforms-folkestone-services-with-new-mcdonalds-costa-and-wh-smith|title=Roadchef Transforms Folkestone Services With New McDonald's, Costa And WH Smithn|date=13 February 2025|publisher=Roadchef|access-date=15 April 2025}}
• Hamilton (M74 northbound)
• Killington Lake (M6 southbound)
• Magor (M4)
• Maidstone (M20)
• Northampton (M1)
• Norton Canes (M6 Toll)
• Pont Abraham (M4)
• Rownhams (M27)
• Sandbach (M6)
• Sedgemoor (M5 southbound)
• Stafford (M6 southbound)
• Strensham (M5)
• Taunton Deane (M5)
• Tibshelf (M1)
• Watford Gap (M1)

And one A-road site at:

• Sutton Scotney (A34)

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

{{UK Motorway Service Stations}}

Category:Catering and food service companies of the United Kingdom

Category:British companies established in 1973

Category:Retail companies established in 1973

Category:Food and drink companies established in 1973

Category:Hospitality companies established in 1973

Category:Companies based in Staffordshire