Welcome Break
Welcome Break recently announced the opening of its first US branch in New York City, and so far, all 26 Welcome Break locations have opened branches. The company's locations - which include well-known brands such as Starbucks, KFC and Burger King - also include a number of restaurants and retail outlets, all operated and maintained by Welcome Breakers itself. In addition to operating its gas stations, the company employs more than 5,000 people in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. [Sources: 1, 2, 7]
One of Welcome Break's existing estates, including one in Northern Ireland, where the UK mainland motorway operator is based, is the best-tailored to its customers "needs and one of the largest in the country. Welcome Break talks about its plans to branch out into the sector and aims to open a service between Cardiff Gate and Peartree. [Sources: 3, 6]
Welcome Break has teamed up with KFC, Waitrose and Starbucks to appear on their road signs, having previously used Sainsbury's, Burger King Coffee and Primo. In May 2005, Welcome Break announced an agreement with fast food chain K to circumvent the UK's strict motorway sign laws. [Sources: 3, 4]
On 9 July 1996, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission decided that Granada had to sell all of Welcome Break's motorway sites, but a subsequent investigation by the Monopolies Commission ordered them to sell 27 of them, as the company already has a large presence in the UK. The Commission decided that the new welcome crushers would have to remove the "Granada" brand within six months. In January 2007, Welcome Breaking rolled out the Welcome Lodge, leaving behind the Red Hen they helped to create, and creating a new location for it in London's West End. [Sources: 4, 6]
Welcome Break changed its shop to WHSmith's Welcome Break Gaming and The restaurant Food Connection Eat - In. They then took over a converted house and reintroduced the sit-down restaurant, an established brand, with separate restaurants opening for their services. In January 2009, they reverted to their original name and changed their shop at WH Smith's to Welcome Breaking Gaming and Food - Restaurants Food Connection. [Sources: 3, 6]
The main restaurant was called Welcome Break, with a takeaway called Burger Break and a cafe in the same building. Little Chef introduced most of the welcome breaks, although there was a KFC coffee shop and Sweet Delights as well as a few other restaurants in London. [Sources: 6]
Applegreen was virtually a rival to Shell, and the acquisition led to a wider spread of partner companies. Welcome Break had long operated its own forecourt under the Shell brand, but plans for the brand were unclear. Welcome Break was known as a brand name, followed by a number of other brands including KFC, Burger Break and Sweet Delights. [Sources: 0, 3]
The earliest known activity for Welcome Break was in 1973, when they were looking for a restaurant to take over the site of a former Shell petrol station on the south side of London. In 1995, Forte announced plans to add McDonald's as a service provider, but the process was halted when Granada acquired Fortes in a deal that included welcome-breakers in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Italy. [Sources: 6]
Welcome Break has undergone many changes since then, as this page explains, and its forecourt strategy has changed significantly since then. Welcome Break is the oldest motorway name still in existence, but it is an old name that has been recycled and retained. Originally, its name had nothing to do with motorways or services - it was an "old name" recycled or "maintained" - but there is some evidence that this may have been the origin of the welcome crushers as we see them today. You would expect the "Welcome - Break" brand to apply to a wide range of services, not just Britain's roads and motorways, of course. [Sources: 3, 6]
Some people, including Welcome Break itself, will argue that the company went out of business in 1959 when the gradual opening of Newport-Pagnell was carried out by Fortes. Welcome Breaks headquarters moved to a purpose-built building in the village of Newport Pagansell and then to its current location in the city centre. [Sources: 6]
Like other operators at the time, Forte merged the management of Welcome Break with its own and began to equip it with a number of new facilities. In April 1984, the new motorway maintenance company Welcome break received a completely new red and cream logo and Fortes declared that they wanted to keep Welcome unmistakable on the existing motorway maintenance companies. With executives such as Rod McKie of Pavilion and Michael Guthrie as CEO and a new chief operating officer, the company also wants to focus on employee quality and satisfaction. [Sources: 3, 6]
Trusthouse and Forte, which once again enjoyed the Welcome Break brand, bought the motorway maintenance company Cote de France with a similar name in August 1986. This was Forte's new acquisition and although operationally separate from Welcome Break, it used much of Welcome Break's style as a starting point and was designed to be familiar to British road users. The money then lent to the Bank of England was borrowed in bonds, with Welcome Breaking acting as the main issuer. [Sources: 5, 6]
Sources:
[0]: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/what-does-welcome-break-do-1.3584252
[1]: https://www.conveniencestore.co.uk/news/applegreen-to-acquire-majority-stake-in-welcome-break/570129.article
[2]: https://news.sap.com/2016/11/getting-a-welcome-break-from-high-employee-turnover-through-collaboration/
[3]: https://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/Welcome_Break
[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Break
[5]: https://www.globalcapital.com/article/k6f9jw9r5dzf/welcome-break-innovation-overcomes-received-wisdom
[6]: https://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/History:Welcome_Break
[7]: https://signagelive.com/signagelive-and-saville-av-confirm-lg-webos-digital-signage-project-with-welcome-break/
