Gull to swoop on NZ station sites

Gull says it aims to open up to a dozen new petrol stations within a year as it focuses on New Zealand after the sale of its West Australian chain.

The family-owned company sold more than 100 stations and other assets last week to another Australian-owned fuel company and says it will set its sights on New Zealand, where it has 41 sites.

Gull general manager Dave Bodger said with two of the major fuel firms looking to leave New Zealand there were fresh opportunities for his company.

Two Gull stations would open before Christmas, and by the end of next year there could be 10 more.

These would involve leases on existing stations, reopening stations and signing deals with independents.

"If people are looking to get out of the country there's an opportunity for us."

Bodger would not disclose how much Gull's owners, the Rae family, were paid by Ausfuel for their Australian business or what they would spend in New Zealand from the proceeds of the sale.

However, as part of the shake-up of the fuel retailing sector across the Tasman, Mobil this year sold about 300 sites in Australia for less than A$300 million ($389 million).

The Raes founded Gull in 1976 and it became the largest independent fuel wholesaler and retailer in Western Australia and New Zealand.

It has a fuel terminal at Mt Maunganui and has petrol stations from Masterton to Whangarei. Bodger said the company wanted to expand its geographical range, including the South Island where plans had been delayed by the Canterbury earthquake.

"I've got a long work list for service stations and terminals. The family are quite relaxed - the deal has to be right and that means you're there for the long term."

Richard Hale, from energy consultants Hale & Twomey, said the New Zealand focus had logic as Gull faced even tighter margins in Australia than it did in this country.

"I could see that they may see more profitability in the New Zealand market than in Australia. It's a very different market to ours in the way pricing operates."

Oil majors were quitting sites in more remote areas, providing opportunities for smaller players.

Figures released by Shell's owner, Greenstone Energy, show that more than 2000 petrol stations have closed in the past 30 years.