Hull-based fuel supplier Rix Petroleum has expanded its footprint with the acquisition of Lincolnshire business K9 Fuels.
The petroleum division of historic family firm Rix recently announced turnover in 2018 had hit close to £150m.
Rix Petroleum has now completed the purchase of Gainsborough-based business K9 Fuels for an undisclosed fee.
The deal will allow Rix to push into Worksop, Newark and Nottinghamshire for the first time, as well as expand its coverage in areas including Lincoln, Market Rasen and Gainsborough.
The acquisition comes after K9’s owners – Ken and Ann Shingdia – took the decision to retire and sell up.
Duncan Lambert, managing director at Rix Petroleum, said: “K9 Fuels is a fantastic business run very much along the same lines as Rix Petroleum.
“We are both family firms with a deep-rooted commitment to dependable and friendly customer service.
“When we heard Ken and Ann had decided to retire, we immediately expressed an interest in the business because it sits between our other Lincolnshire operations in Immingham and Spalding, meaning we have extended our coverage of the region to include mid-Lincolnshire and west into Nottinghamshire.”
Ken and Ann owned K9 Fuels for 10 years and have developed it into a thriving business with a loyal customer base.
Under the deal, all the staff at K9 Fuels will continue to work at the business.
The move will also create two new jobs, including a business manager role, which will be filled by Steve Ella, and a new driver’s role.
It takes the number of Rix depots across Lincolnshire to three, adding to existing operations in Immingham and Spalding.
As part of the acquisition, the tanker fleet is to be updated with state-of-the-art technology and branding that reflects both the K9 Fuels and Rix Petroleum names.
Mr Lambert said: “Ken and Ann have built a fantastic business which has attracted a loyal customer base and we feel privileged they have chosen us to take that business forward.
“We intended to make the transition as smooth as possible so customers can be assured of complete continuity of service.”
Former K9 owner Mr Shingdia said finding the right successor to take the business on had been one of the biggest challenges of deciding to retire.
He said with more than 80 years’ experience in delivering fuel, he believed Rix Petroleum was the right choice to continue where he and Ann had left off.
“We are pleased to say that we have been able to secure a sale and pass the full operation over to Rix Petroleum, another local and family owned business,” he said.
“We have complete confidence that what we have worked hard to achieve will continue in the safe hands of a company that shares our own values and attitude towards customer service.”
Rix Petroleum is part of the J.R. Rix & Sons group of companies in Hull.
Rix has been a family-owned Hull business for more than 140 years, and although its roots lie in the shipping industry, the company has since diversified to a variety of sectors.
Other areas of the Rix business include a sea shuttle service, which transports workers to offshore wind farms in the North Sea, and a heating branch which specialises in supplying oil tanks and boilers.
