Applegreen opened new sites and outlets in Ireland and Britain, completed two major investment programmes in the United States, and continued to grow its EV charging network in all three markets.

The near €300 million investment this year is part of a previously announced €1 billion investment programme to expand Applegreen in its three main markets over the next five years.

Applegreen co-founder and Group Chief Executive Joe Barrett said:

“Applegreen is continuing to make very significant progress across all facets of the Group. We’re investing for the long-term at home in Ireland and in our overseas markets in Britain and in the United States. Our plans to invest €1 billion in the business are well on track and we are very excited about our future prospects. We have strong relationships with our brand partners and are continuing to focus on providing our customers with a high-quality roadside hospitality experience when they travel.”

During the year, Applegreen agreed the €187 million disposal of its UK petrol filing station business in a move that will allow the Group to focus more on its UK motorway and trunk road service areas, which are much larger sites with a greater retail and food and beverage offering for customers.

In the United States, Applegreen made a $74 million investment earlier this year to purchase 60% of Project Service, which operates 23 travel plazas in Connecticut. Applegreen originally acquired 40% of Project Service in 2019. Applegreen has also recently taken over the management of 10 additional food outlets at those sites.

Two major long-term US capital investment projects were completed this year in New York and New Jersey. Applegreen finished the upgrade of 21 highway travel plazas in New Jersey in January, and in recent days, re-opened the last of 27 travel plazas on the New York State Thruway that the company has redeveloped and modernised over the past four years.

In the UK, Welcome Break opened a major new motorway service area near Rotherham at a cost of £55 million, which is the largest single investment that it has made in a site to date. Welcome Break also recently signed a 75-year lease extension for eight key motorway service areas with the UK Department for Transport.

At home, Applegreen opened a new state-of-the-art motorway service area on the M3 in Dunshaughlin and successfully introduced Taco Bell to the Irish market. Its partnership with M&S Food is now available at 35 outlets following additional openings this year. It further expanded its Braeburn Café business and also introduced a new Crafted Kitchen & Deli concept.

Applegreen operates 435 locations in Ireland, the UK and the US, with more than 750 branded food outlets across its global network. The Group currently employs about 16,900 people, and its outlets serve about 180 million customers annually.

Newly filed accounts for Applegreen’s parent company Causeway Consortium Holdings show that the company’s gross profit increased by 7% to just over €1 billion in 2024. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased marginally to just under €272 million, while adjusted EBITDA, which is the primary performance metric of the Group, increased by 4% to almost €297 million.

Applegreen’s turnover declined by 1% to €3.8 billion during the year. The disposal of some smaller US sites in Florida and the Midwest had an impact on turnover during the year; however, at a Group level, this was partly offset by increases in food and store revenues. The UK continues to be the Group’s largest market, with sales of €2 billion last year. The Irish business had a turnover of almost €1.1 billion in 2024, while US sales came in at €700 million.

Applegreen recorded a loss before tax of €92 million last year, compared to almost €83 million in 2023. This was due to the impact of depreciation and amortisation, financing costs, €24 million in non-recurring charges related to the opening of newly refurbished sites, costs relating to the disposal of some assets and growing the Group’s EV business. Excluding these items, the result for the year was a pre-tax profit of €42.3 million, which was a 28% increase on the previous 12 months.

“Applegreen had a strong trading performance during 2024, and we have robust plans in place for future growth,” according to Mr Barrett. “As we continue to redevelop our sites, particularly in the US, and grow organically, we expect this profit to increase in the coming years.”

Applegreen is one of Ireland’s leading retail hospitality brands. It opened its first service station in Ballyfermot in Dublin in 1992 and now operates almost 200 locations in the Irish market.

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