Turning Penny'sinto pounds

That suggestion was made at a ceremony at which a quarter of a million pound investment at the village’s Penny Petroleum’s JET service station by a Kirkmuirhill business really paid off with it winning a national award for part of its retail business.

The company took the Scottish Fresh and Chilled Retailer of the Year award at the annual Scottish Local Retailer magazine Rewards Ceremony.

Held in Glasgow and compered by Scottish television presenter and comedian Des Clarke, the gathering was told by Antony Begley, the magazine’s publishing director: “JET Kirkmuirhill is a glimpse of what local retailing will look like in the future. I

“t’s a thoroughly modern convenience store after its full refit and focused heavily on the categories and services that matter most to today’s shoppers.”

Said business owner David Penny: “We are thrilled to win this national award.

“We have invested over £250,000 on the JET-branded forecourt and SPAR-branded convenience store over the past year and have completely transformed the store’s interior.

“We can now offer our customers a much more extensive range of produce rather than just emergency purchases.

“Our customers have told us that Kirkmuirhill is ‘more like a supermarket’ than a forecourt store, so we are very proud that our efforts have been recognised at an industry level.”