Management

Darren founded Ascona Group in 2011 in his home county of Pembrokeshire, South-West Wales. He began his career in the industry withroles at Elf Oil UK Limited and Total UK Limited, before founding BigOil.net in2004, which he sold to the PRA in 2008.

In 2018, Darren and his team at Ascona embarked on a high-growth strategy and have since taken the Group from two sites in Pembrokeshire to a growing portfolio across the UK.

His strategy of ‘Asconarisation’ sees Ascona forecourts developed into “world-class” roadside retail destinations, with a leading instore retail offerings, concentrating on Food-To-Go, comprised of both commercial retail partnerships and in-house brands.

He has also been instrumental in founding the Ascona management board, which is shaping the future of the organization. His drive, determination and “hands-on” approach to management and business performance has earned Darren and Ascona Group several entrepreneurial and business awards and nominations.

Shane is a multi-disciplinary business director with a focus on developing, funding and executing a business’s core strategy.

Prior to joining Ascona in 2018 Shane had been working as an independent financial business consultant/interim FD for 15 years across a wide range of business sectors from start-up through to business sale. He has previously held senior commercial/financial roles in education, leisure & hospitality, technology, retail, construction and waste management.

Shane leads on financial strategy and control and governance.

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Duncan has over 30 years’ experience in the fuel industry, having served as Operations Director for the 25 forecourt group MPK Garages and Strategy and Planning Manager for Elf Oil UK & Total UK Ltd.

Duncan leads on portfolio management and acquisitions.

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Catherine trained at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in the City of London before qualifying into the firm’s Real Estate Development team, advising major transport clients including TfL on the Northern Line Extension to Battersea Power Station and BAA on the £1.5bn sale of London Stansted Airport.

Catherine then joined Teacher Stern LLP in the West End, advising high net worth individuals and private companies on asset management, site assemblies and redevelopments, providing detailed title analyses on sites such as The Ned and The Stage, Shoreditch.

She then moved ‘in-house’ to Network Rail’s legal team in London, overseeing the managed station retail portfolio, freight network and reclassification as a public body, before joining Ascona Group in order to support the Board on all areas of law and governance.

Dave has worked in the retail industry for a number of years, holding store management roles at The Co-operative Group and Ebor sites, before progressing to the role of Area Manager at MPK Garages.

Joining the Ascona team in 2017, Dave onboarded the Group’s first site, and has since managed site operations across the Group’s steadily growing portfolio.

Dave’s role is to develop and transform the Group’s existing forecourts, with projects including knockdown-rebuilds and store refits, whilst overseeing the acquisition of new sites. 

As the Retail Trading Director at Ascona I manage the retail and commercial partnership relations with suppliers and partners.
I provide retail focussed support and co-operation to our Operations Director, Area and Site Managers.
Along with developing our retail vision, strategy and plan to drive top-line growth and bottom-line profitability.

I have worked in the Retail Industry for many years in both the Independent and Corporate sectors. My roles have included, Store, Project and Account Management along with Training positions.  These have provided me with the experience and knowledge base to enable me to fully support the Ascona team.

I am married with 2 children and live in Swindon.  As a southerner, of course I support Manchester United! And I enjoy playing Golf.

A Work Achievement: Sales Manager of the Year, Musgrave Retail Partners A Personal Achievement: Skydive from 2 miles up over Salisbury Plain

I enjoy working for Ascona and being part of a rapidly growing business and the challenges it brings.

Ian Richards joins us with a wealth of knowledge from the downstream oil industry.

I joined the downstream oil industry in 1985 and have worked with International Oil Companies as well as Independent Retailers.  Additionally, I have worked in a property director role for hospitality companies such as Moto Hospitality and Subway.  My main areas of experience are Acquisitions, Developments and Property Management

I joined Ascona early 2020 having had 13 years of experience within the downstream oil industry including retail and franchising with companies including BP and Essar Oil.

 Property Director North for the Ascona Group and am responsible for Acquisitions and Property Management. 

 Married and a dad of 3, living in Leamington Spa, a keen Squash player, U8’s Football Coach and a Nottingham Forest fan. 

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With many years of experience within the sales of capital equipment and related service organisations I have gained invaluable experience, building working relationships with key decision makers within multiple organisations, supermarkets, oil companies and major groups as well as the individual operator.

An experienced oil executive with experience in both Upstream and Downstream operations. Co-owner of a Consultancy in Downstream oil products markets focusing on Retail. Senior oil company management experience the UK and 6 other European markets, operating in diverse market environments with a variety of business models including JV’s.

Wide network of industry contacts and particular interest in business growth through either organic growth or acquisitions, adapting to change and ensuring future business sustainability (ESG).  

Patrick is married with three children and lives in Hertfordshire. In addition to his work commitments he is charity trustee, school governor, community volunteer and fund raiser. Leisure interests are largely outdoor activities and sport including mountain climbing, skiing, cycling and dog walking.      

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Jonathan is a Director at Crestline Investors Inc, focusing on European investments. Previously he was an Investment Director at a European private equity firm focusing on small-cap companies and started his career at PWC.

Jonathan has been a non-executive director and board adviser across multiple sectors including sports brands, TV post-production, telecoms, logistics, and marketing services. He has a BSc in Economics and Management from Cardiff University and is a Chartered Accountant.

Alex has worked in institutional equities and corporate finance since 1998. After 12 years in institutional equities (initially at JP Morgan Cazenove), he set up an alternative financing group at Lazard before going on in 2010 to build the alternative capital division at Mirabaud & Cie.

In 2015, together with his partners, he acquired Nash & Co Capital Ltd, a UK-focused corporate finance advisory business, and in 2019 established Nash Business Capital, a principal lender to UK SMEs. He has published two books on finance and is a graduate of Oxford University.

At the age of 21, Colin began his career in groceries at Spar, where he would go onto spend the next 16 years and finish his time at the business as a Sales Director. After gaining extensive experience at Spar, he founded Costcutter in 1986. This unique concept revolutionized the grocery sector through its innovative network of convenience stores that provided a platform for independent retailers to compete with larger supermarkets through collective buying and marketing.

Colin served as Chairman of the grocery group from its inception until 2012. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Group, from one store in 1986 to over 1,700 in 2012, as it evolved into a beloved British brand with operations across the country.

For the last six years, Colin has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Nisa, a key partner of Ascona Group. In keeping with Ascona’s strategy to develop the next evolution of roadside retail destinations with first-rate convenience stores, Mr Graves will play an invaluable role supporting the Executive team to realise its strategic ambitions.

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