Welcome Break set for auction with £700m price tag


Motorway service stations chain, Welcome Break is to go up for auction with an expected price tag of £700m.

The operator, which is owned by Appia Investments consortium, currently operates 27 sites across the UK, serving more than 80m customers a year.

One of the company's main rival, Roadchef was sold in a £153m deal last year.

Welcome Break saw turnover rise to £314m in the year to 27 January 2015, in comparison to £306.6m in the preceding year. During the period, the firm reported that profit before tax rose to almost £19m, up from around £14m in the previous year.