Wed 9th Apr 2014 - Nando’s and Pat Val join JDW on M40 Nando’s and Patisserie Valerie join Wetherspoon on M40 site: Both Nando’s and Patisserie Valerie will break new ground this summer by opening their first motorway service station sites, joining JD Wetherspoon in opening at the Beaconsfield M40 service station. Andrew Long, chief executive of Extra MSA Group, said: “Extra are pleased to be working with both Nando’s and Patisserie Valerie to further expand the range of customer choice and popular major national brands represented at its service areas.” Alteration work will start later this month to create a new unit for Patisserie Valerie and Nando’s. This will be in place of the existing floor space in the Food Court Building, currently occupied by Le Petit Four Francais. Long added that the intention is to have both new sites open for June or July this year, ahead of the busy summer trading period. The proposed Patisserie Valerie opening follows a range of next types of sites for the brand in the past year – Propel broke the news that it had signed to open inside three Next shops as concessions. This month, it opened its first stand-alone out-of-town site at the Ford Kinnaird Shopping Park in Edinburgh. It opened a 1,438 square foot unit on a ten-year lease at the park. The controversial JD Wetherspoon pub, The Hope and Champion, opened in January this year. Last month, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson reported that the Beaconsfield site was taking slightly less per week than the £35,300 company average. He told Propel: “For sure there will be other opportunities, but we are not chasing them and no one has come to us yet, but as and when they do, we will look at them site by site. As we thought, it’s performed much like an airport pub, two thirds of sales coming from food. Average sales are a bit under our average pubs, but food sales are higher, twice the company average. Drinks overall are at 30%, with alcohol sales around ten to 20%. However, Beaconsfield is one of the busiest service stations for coaches and there’s a 105-room hotel adjoining our pub.” The JD Wetherspoon venue was not the first pub to open at a motorway service station. Moto Hospitality opened a Harvester, under franchise from Mitchells & Butlers, at its Donington Park Services on the M1 in May of last year. The plan was to add further Harvester sites at Moto’s 40 roadside service stations if the trial is successful.