Burnley business gets special recognition at industry awards

Janagha Wafa, who owns Greens Service Station in Burnley, was named as the winner of the Special Recognition Award at the Gulf Roadside Services EXPO & Awards.

The national awards are organised by Certas Energy’s Roadside Services division, which supports more than 400 service station sites across the UK, many of which are small, independent businesses.

Jan, who also runs a service station in Nottingham, won for his incredible work turning both sites into thriving businesses. Jan acquired the site in Burnley in 2020, which underwent major redevelopment before reopening in 2022. This included knocking down a small kiosk and building a two-storey shop and office space, new pumps, tank relining, canopy repairs and forecourt resurfacing.

Despite delays caused by the Covid pandemic, the new site was opened in September 2022 and has gone on to achieve 3ML fuel sales in the first year of trading – something the team expected to reach within four years.

Jan, who is a father of six, said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised – I am very proud. It’s been a long two years and we’ve done a lot of work to complete the project, but now it’s going really, really well.

“We wouldn’t have achieved it without a lot of support from everyone, from the Certas Team to our staff and site manager, Sayeed Abdul Basir.

“I’m especially proud of the response from the local community – we are serving 800 customers a day and we have nothing but excellent reviews online. We are proud to provide an excellent service for the community.”

The father-of-six added: “I never imagined as a young boy in Afghanistan that I would one day be standing on a stage receiving an award for my business. It meant so, so much to me.”

Jan, 54, came over the UK when he was just 17. He worked his way up to part own a service station in Birmingham, before buying his own service stations in Peterborough, then Nottingham and Burnley.

He added: “I wouldn’t have achieved it without a lot of support from everyone, from the Certas Team to our staff and customers.”

The award was presented at a special ceremony held at Carden Park in Chester on Thursday, March 21, which gave independent service station owners like Jan the opportunity to meet his contemporaries. It was also an opportunity to learn about future renewable energy solutions, such as the launch of EvoUltra, renewable diesel for retail sites, and Evolo, Certas’s new EV charging solution.

Richard Billington, managing director of Certas Roadside Services, said: “These awards are our way of celebrating the small businesses which show great business acumen and innovation in a tough industry.

“Being a small business owner can be very challenging and you can often feel quite isolated, so this is our way of thanking the teams that make up a network of service stations that keep our country moving.”