FAST-growing petrol forecourt operator Euro Garages is on track to boost turnover by more than £30million this year, according to bosses.

The Darwen firm has enjoyed another bumper year, opening more stations and teaming up with US coffee chain giant Starbucks.

And now it has plans to push into the south of England, with boss Mohsin Issa saying talks are underway about acquiring stations in the area.

He said that such a move had to be well planned, with Euro Garages buying up ‘clusters’ of sites, rather than individual ones, in a bid to maximise profits.

“We are strong across Lancashire and parts of the Midlands but the south of England is very much the territory we are looking at now,” said Mr Issa.

“However, we cannot just buy one site. We need a critical mass of stations to make an impact there.”

The clutch of acquisitions could be announced as soon as this week.

Euro Garages will report its full results later this year after the end of its financial year in July.

And despite fluctuating oil prices, Mr Issa is confident the firm will increase its £242million 2009 turnover to £275million, boosted by new openings and solid perform-ance at its current sites.

He said: “Our turnover is based on the price of oil so if it comes down, our turnover does too.

"At the moment the price of fuel is down on this time last year but we are confident our turnover will be up when we come to report.”

Euro Garages, based in Blackburn Road, has enjoyed a successful year after teaming up with Starbucks to open coffee shops in some of its new forecourts.

The firm’s soon-to-be new HQ in Haslingden Road, Blackburn, will boast a Starbucks branch alongside a BP filling station.

Euro Garages is also in the process of renovating the run-down M61 services near Chorley, once dubbed the worst in Britain.