Extra MSA Group is a popular Motorway Service Area (MSA) provider with eight service stations spread across the country. The company is known for its state-of-the-art facilities and unparalleled selection of the best brands in the food and drink industry. All of this contributes towards making Extra service stations that bit more special for the customer, as CEO Tom Dobson explained to Hannah Barnett.
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According to a survey carried out by Transport Focus, the statutory watchdog for UK road users, Extra is the MSA of choice among motorists and consumers.
“In the last survey, we were the number one operator,” said Tom Dobson, CEO. “I think that demonstrates the importance we place on customer experience, and how our brand partners contribute to what we do.”
Beginning with a bang Extra MSA Group was founded in 1992, a pivotal time for the industry. Before that, service station sites were all government owned. Following deregulation, Extra was the first to seize the potential of the market.
“We’ve tried to evolve the sector, both in terms of site design and brand mix,” said Mr Dobson. “Motorway stations are a critical part of transport infrastructure, they’re an essential safe place to rest while on the road. They’re also a significant investment and can be very challenging to develop.
“Opening our sites at Beaconsfield and Cobham were particularly significant, as they are the two biggest MSAs in the country. This led to the transformation of the company from a relatively small organisation, to running England’s top two services in terms of both size and customer satisfaction.”
Thanks to owning the two largest sites, the company now welcomes around 26 million
visitors a year and employs 125 staff. Each MSA can also accommodate up to 370 local jobs through tenant partnerships. The launch of two new locations in Warrington and Solihull, in 2027 and 2028 respectively, will mark yet another substantial milestone.
“Sites like Warrington and Solihull don’t come around very often,” Mr Dobson explained, “since the barrier to entry in our sector is so high. Solihull, for example, has taken 26 years from initially identifying the location, through to getting planning consent.”
Extra has already made a name for itself through its landscaped service stations that embrace nature – several facilities even contain lakes. Therefore, it is no surprise that the two new sites will follow suit.
“Warrington and Solihull are really special,” Mr Dobson said. “Something that we’ve focused on a lot over the years is creating service stations that people really want to be in. It’s part of our ethos as a company. So, Warrington is next to a country park and Solihull, to the south-east of Birmingham, will be a beautifully landscaped site.”
The two new sites will also be highly sustainable, and Extra has a strong precedent for such policies. Leeds Skelton Lake, for instance, has a green living roof, is zerowaste-to-landfill, uses renewable electricity and is “probably the most sustainable building on the MSA network,” according to Mr Dobson. What the company has learnt in Leeds, it has been able to translate to Warrington and Solihull. For example, the new sites will not use any gas to run, thanks to switching to air source heat
Extra Group CEO Tom Dobson pumps, and will generate renewable energy on site, marking an innovative move for the entire sector.
The pillars of success
To remain sustainable at sites old and new, Extra relies on a thorough ESG policy, split into three pillars. These are ‘Energising Journeys’, ‘Empowering People’ and ‘Tackling Climate Change.’
‘Energising Journeys’ focuses on ensuring sites are restorative spaces, on the basis that the more effectively someone can relax, the safer their onward journey will be. The pillar also considers sustainable fuelling of vehicles, including an innovative trial of e-HGVs scheduled for Baldock services in 2025.
To meet the challenge of getting the required amount of power to sites, the company has collaborated with GRIDSERVE and IONITY as charge point partners. “We see a really high demand for EV charging,” Mr Dobson said. “In 2024 and the beginning of 2025, we’re doubling the numbers of charging bays across all sites, and then the year after that, we’ll double them again.”
As part of ‘Empowering People’, the company has also invested in Reputation, a platform which pulls feedback from the social media and review platforms, facilitating customer responses in real time. This has proved something of a game-changer, according to Mr Dobson: “Previously, when a customer made a comment on any one
