Motorway Services Online

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Welcome Break

Welcome Break
Welcome Break
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Locations:38
Introduced:1970s
Predecessors:Trusthouse Forte, Ross
Acquired by:Appia Investments
Chief executive:Rod McKie
Head office address:2 Vantage Court
Tickford Street
Newport Pagnell
Buckinghamshire
MK16 9EZ [map]
Phone number:01908 299700
Official Website:
www.welcomebreak.co.uk

The UK's second-largest operator, Welcome Break have been extensively refurbishing several of their services (even rebuilding Sarn Park entirely) and replacing restaurants with a whole-new range of takeaway food brands. They were also quick to roll-out stand-alone Starbucks drive thrus wherever possible.

In November 2018, Ireland's largest service station operator Applegreen purchased 55% of Welcome Break. Applegreen explained that they would be responsible for the brand's overall "strategy and operations", while Welcome Break's management would take responsibility for Applegreen's existing UK locations - though this may just mean the larger ones.

As a result, Welcome Break are now promoting a special "fuel good" fuel, which is also used by Applegreen. There have been rumours that Applegreen are preparing for a "price crash" at Welcome Break services.

Welcome Break Today

Welcome Break styling.
The new styling being applied to their services.

Welcome Break own many of the UK's oldest motorway buildings, including Charnock Richard and Newport Pagnell. An expansion in the 1990s has given them several newer-style buildings too.

Their retail offer is made up mostly of Waitrose, backed up by WHSmith, and they are introducing collection points aimed at commuters.

They were one of the first operators to take social media seriously, which they continue to use to market their facilities. Welcome Break also regularly support Children In Need.

In 2017, they started branding themselves as "Your Welcome Break". A sign with this slogan is usually followed by a dubious established date of 1959.

Refurbishment

Having led several refurbishment programmes, throughout 2015 Welcome Break redesigned most of their food courts, introducing Subway, Tossed, Papa John's Pizza and Harry Ramsden's to the motorway network, but doing without the traditional restaurant all together and relying on Harry Ramsden's for the breakfast trade.

Welcome Break then reintroduced sit-down dining under the established brand PizzaExpress, with separate restaurants opening up outside their services.

Some of these units are operated by Welcome Break at other operator's services, including Cobham.

Brightly-coloured wood-effect styling is used for many of their fittings, flooring and corporate signs.

Hotels

Welcome Break have always taken their roll in providing motorway hotels seriously, right back to when they leant their own name to the Welcome Lodge. This became Days Inn (also Days Hotel), including some sites they operate away from the motorway network and at other operator's services.

Days Inns are now being replaced by the more upmarket Ramada. In April 2019, Welcome Break opened a new Ramada in the suburbs of Glasgow.

The Applegreen Influence

Applegreen's takeover of Welcome Break took effect in January 2019. A number of services are expected to transfer to the Welcome Break brand. Welcome Break own their own forecourts and have operated them under the Shell brand for a long time; Applegreen are effectively a rival to Shell.

While Welcome Break and Applegreen have been publicly supporting each other on Twitter, several more changes were noticed. In March 2019, Welcome Break opened a new truckstop at Rothwell. The petrol station attached to it carried no branding other than Welcome Break's name. Planning documents for it were sent from Applegreen's Dublin office, and the forecourt advertised that it accepts Applegreen's fuel cards.

In July 2019, Welcome Break removed Shell's deli2go from their forecourts, using their own creation, 'The Deli', instead. Hopwood Park was chosen as the place to launch "fuel good", a new type of fuel which they say is exclusive to Welcome Break (not Shell). "Fuel good" is an Applegreen promotion, and Welcome Break are promoting it with Applegreen's colour scheme. Welcome Break also claim "fuel good" is the cheapest fuel on the motorway, a sign that they are adopting Applegreen's strategy of using low fuel prices to attract customers. This is a strategy that is rarely seen on the UK motorway network.

Applegreen briefly considered selling Welcome Break's hotels, but concluded the partnership was good for both businesses. They said that they expect the benefits of working with Welcome Break to be "significantly larger than our previous expectation".

Company History

See also: History:Welcome Break

The Welcome Break name was originally nothing to do with motorway services - it was an old name which was recycled and held on to. They went on to become the pride of Trusthouse Forte's family, and despite several names and changes forced upon them by Granada, the name continues to survive.

Welcome Break themselves chase their heritage back to the construction of their Newport Pagnell site in 1959, rather than the past uses of the Welcome Break brand.

Logo History

When Welcome Break was merely a motorway restaurant to rival Little Chef, circa 1974-78, its logo was also an attempt to rival Little Chef's logo. It was a purple silhouette teapot figure with legs, a head and a chef's hat, inside a triangle with a red outline similar to the Channel 4 red triangle or an upside down Give Way sign. The accompanying text added "Highway Family Restaurants" at the bottom.

From April 1984, the new Welcome Break motorway services had a whole new red-and-cream logo.

In around 1990, this was replaced by the slightly iconic swan logo and blue colour scheme, which can be seen to the right. Three versions of this were produced: one had a very pale background and black feet, and the second had a darker background and yellow feet. In 2000 the biggest change came, as more styling was applied and a sunrise was added to the graphic.

The Welcome Break services at Warwick were given a hill figure of a swan made of quartz that same year, although it never resembled the swan on the logo, and is no longer there. At one time they advertised their services with the slogan "High St. prices". How times change!

In 2006, the swan logo was then replaced by their new green-on-black colour scheme. All their services were given a mural which resembled its location, with the words 'Welcome Break' in white and green-on-black.

Welcome Break also teamed up with KFC, Waitrose and Starbucks to appear on their road signs, having previously used Sainsbury's, Burger King and Coffee Primo. At the end of the trend of pushing brand names further than their own, many road signs no longer used the Welcome Break branding at all, but new signs use the new format, showing the green-on-black logo.

  • Welcome Break highway family restaurants logo.
    The very first logo, when they were an A-road restaurant chain.
  • Welcome Break 1980s.
    The original motorway logo.
  • Welcome Break swan.
    One version of the main logo, 1988-1998.
  • Welcome Break swan logo.
    The revised swan logo, 1998-2006.
  • Welcome Break road sign.
    The swan as it appeared on signs.
  • Welcome Break black logo.
    The new brand, since 2006.

Welcome Break Services

See also: List of Welcome Break services

A list of services ran by Welcome Break can be found on this list, or you can view them on a map.

Extra Facilities

With the success of the Days Inn motel brand, Welcome Break had a hand in a hotel in central London. They no longer run this but do have similar Ramadas near Wakefield and Glasgow. They have since expanded the motels at London Gateway and Birchanger Green to use the more upmarket 'Days Hotel' name, now Ramada.

In addition to this, Extra have let out most of their facilities to other companies, many of which have been taken up by Welcome Break:

  • Baldock (A1/A1(M)) - coffee shop branded as Starbucks and motel branded as Days Inn
  • Beaconsfield (M40) - coffee shop branded as Starbucks
  • Cambridge (A14) - motel branded as Ramada
  • East Kilbride (A726) - new Ramada hotel
  • Cobham (M25) - coffee shop branded as Starbucks and motel branded as Days Inn
  • Peterborough (A1/A1(M)) - motel branded as Days Inn
  • Wakefield (M1) - Ramada hotel away from services
  • Winchester (M3) - motel taken over and branded as Days Inn

Former Services

The following services were once branded as Welcome Break:

Original A-road Sites

The following A-road sites were ran by Welcome Break in the 1970s:

  • Camel Cross (A303)
  • Fourways (A37)
  • Henstridge (A24)
  • Holmwood (A24)
  • Hilltop Grill (A30)
  • Kennford (A38)
  • Lamberhurst (A21)
  • Newcott (A303)
  • Rake (A3)
  • Upper Swainswick (A46)

Applegreen Transfers

Subway restaurant.
A Subway building at Hillsborough, ripe for Welcome Break branding.

As part of Applegreen's takeover, a number of services are proposed to be transferred from Applegreen to Welcome Break. These are the ones which most suit Welcome Break's existing estate, including several in Northern Ireland where no UK mainland motorway services operator can currently be found.

Several of these are not currently signposted from the road, and therefore not listed on this website. The full list of sites is:

Planned Services

The following services were still being actively considered by Applegreen at the time of the takeover. They are now being pursued by Welcome Break.

Unbuilt Services

The following services were planned by Welcome Break but they were never built:

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