Shell is preparing to exit its network of petrol stations situated on French motorways, based on documents the company circulated to employees and suppliers. The network comprises about 60 highway service sites, which are run day-to-day by other operators while Shell remains the fuel supplier and service provider in return for fees.
The business produced an operating profit of €108.5 million in 2025, a figure that was included in the internal material. Shell has informed workers' representatives that it is aiming to identify a buyer during the third quarter and to complete the transaction in early 2027, according to the documents.
Under the current arrangements, third-party operators manage the individual locations and rely on Shell for fuel supply and additional services. In exchange, Shell receives fee-based income tied to those provisions. The planned disposal would transfer ownership of the sites to an external purchaser while disrupting the present commercial relationship between Shell and the operators that run the stations.
The timetable shared with internal stakeholders indicates a two-stage process: a search for a buyer anticipated in the third quarter, followed by a closing targeted for early 2027. The documents circulated to employees and suppliers conveyed these expectations to worker representatives.
Details published in the internal material emphasize the scale of the motorway footprint - roughly 60 stations - and the most recent operating profit result of €108.5 million for 2025. Beyond these items, the documents set out the projected timetable for a sale but did not disclose additional financial terms, buyer identities, or the structure of any potential deal.
Contextual note: The information in this report is drawn from materials shared by the company with employees and suppliers, and from communications to workers' representatives describing the anticipated timing of the sale.