---
title: Ascona Group Forecourt Networks Case Study | Evolve
description: How Evolve unified 61 forecourt sites for Ascona Group with PCI-certified SD-WAN, 24/7 NOC support and same-day cutovers without trading disruption.
image: https://evolvebg.co.uk/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/library/stock/shell-petrol-station.webp
---

# Scaling Ascona group: Unified networks for multi-site forecourt growth

Results

61

Sites unified under standardised managed network infrastructure.

100

%

Guest Wi-Fi uptime achieved across forecourt estate.

1

 day

Typical cutover time per site without disruption to trading.

![ascona-group-dark-logo](https://evolvebg.co.uk/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/vectors/logos/colored/ascona-group-dark-logo.svg)

**About**  
Roadside retail operator acquiring mid-market forecourt assets and developing them into world-class retail destinations across the UK.

**Industry**  
Retail & Forecourts

**Company Size**  
500-999 employees

Overview

Roadside retail specialist Ascona Group operates 61 fuel forecourts across the UK. Following rapid expansion through acquisition of independent and family-owned forecourt assets, the company needed to standardise fragmented network infrastructure and establish proactive support to maintain trading reliability across its growing estate.

Multi-site forecourt operators acquiring independent sites inherit diverse network configurations, telephony systems and connectivity providers. This fragmentation creates management complexity, billing inefficiencies and prolonged downtime during incidents.

Ascona Group required a managed network partner capable of consolidating its estate onto a standardised platform, delivering proactive monitoring and maintaining operational continuity during rapid growth.

## The Challenge

Ascona Group's acquisition-led growth strategy delivered scale but introduced operational friction. Each acquired site brought different network providers, telephony configurations and technology standards. This created several challenges:

### Fragmented infrastructure

Multiple carriers, telephony systems and configurations across 61 sites complicated troubleshooting and increased mean time to resolution during incidents.

### Billing complexity

Diverse provider relationships and unused legacy telephone lines increased costs and administrative overhead.

### Guest experience issues

Firehouse Restaurant locations experienced poor internet performance and payment processing delays, affecting customer satisfaction and revenue.

### No proactive oversight

Reactive support models meant issues were discovered by customers or store teams rather than being prevented or resolved before impact.

## The Solution

Evolve designed and deployed a standardised managed network solution across the Ascona Group estate, beginning with Mako Networks SD-WAN deployment in 2012. The solution addressed infrastructure fragmentation and operational risk through several core components:

### Standardised SD-WAN architecture

Evolve deployed Mako Networks appliances across all sites, creating consistent network design and centralised management. As Mako's sole Platinum Partner, Evolve provided PCI-certified infrastructure supporting payment systems, fuel sales and third-party integrations.

### Secure connectivity with cellular failover

Each site received high-speed internet connectivity with automatic cellular failover, ensuring payment terminals, point-of-sale systems and guest Wi-Fi remained operational during primary circuit outages.

### 24/7/365 proactive monitoring

Evolve's[ UK-based Network Operations Centre](https://evolvebg.co.uk/about/network-operations-center) provides round-the-clock monitoring with proactive issue detection and resolution. The support model focuses on preventing incidents before they affect trading operations.

### Rapid, low-disruption deployment

Staged rollouts minimised operational impact, with typical site cutovers completing within a single day without disrupting fuel sales, shop operations or food service.

### Guest Wi-Fi integration

Standardised [guest Wi-Fi](https://evolvebg.co.uk/solutions/guest-wifi) across forecourts and Firehouse Restaurant locations improved customer experience while maintaining network segmentation for payment systems.

## The Benefits

### Unified infrastructure

Standardised network design across 61 sites simplified management, reduced troubleshooting complexity and provided consistent performance.

### 100% guest uptime

Proactive monitoring and cellular failover eliminated guest Wi-Fi outages, supporting improved customer satisfaction at forecourt and restaurant locations.

### Cost reduction

Consolidation of providers and removal of unused telephone lines reduced recurring connectivity costs and billing administration.

### Payment reliability

PCI-certified network infrastructure maintained secure, reliable payment processing across [fuel pumps](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/forecourts), [tills](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/qsr) and [restaurant](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/hospitality) terminals.

### Rapid site integration

Single-day cutovers enabled fast integration of newly acquired sites without extended trading disruption, supporting Ascona's acquisition strategy.

### Proactive support model

[24/7/365 NOC](https://evolvebg.co.uk/about/network-operations-center) monitoring detects and resolves issues before store teams or customers experience impact, reducing reactive incident management.

## About Evolve

Evolve delivers service-first managed network solutions for multi-site brands across [retail](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/retail), [forecourts](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/forecourts), [QSR](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/qsr) and [hospitality](https://evolvebg.co.uk/sectors/hospitality). Our PCI Level 1-aligned [SD-WAN](https://evolvebg.co.uk/solutions/sd-wan), resilient [Business Connectivity](https://evolvebg.co.uk/solutions/business-connectivity), [Guest Wi-Fi](https://evolvebg.co.uk/solutions/guest-wifi) and [managed IT services](https://evolvebg.co.uk/solutions/it-services) are backed by a UK-based [24/7/365 Network Operations Centre](https://evolvebg.co.uk/about/network-operations-center).

We specialise in blueprint-led rollouts that protect trading minutes, reduce compliance risk and scale predictably across complex estates. Our proactive monitoring model means 86% of support interactions are outbound-we detect and resolve issues before sites feel the impact.

As Mako Networks' only [Platinum Partner](https://evolvebg.co.uk/about/partners), we are the only network management company in the world to qualify as a PCI-certified Level 1 service provider, making us uniquely positioned to support hospitality and retail businesses requiring external PCI DSS certification.

For more information, [contact us](https://evolvebg.co.uk/contact).

## Read more stories (Related posts)

<https://evolvebg.co.uk/case-studies/restoring-convenience-to-eg-group>

![eg-group-logo](https://evolvebg.co.uk/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/vectors/logos/colored/eg-group-logo.svg) Read More

### Powering EG Group's global network: Simplified management across 10 countries

![Powering EG Group's global network: Simplified management across 10 countries](https://evolvebg.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/pages/blog/eg-group-hq.webp?width=1200&height=675&name=eg-group-hq.webp)

6,000+

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<https://evolvebg.co.uk/case-studies/evolves-data-centre-integrations>

Read More

### Direct data centre integrations for secure multi-site connectivity

![Direct data centre integrations for secure multi-site connectivity](https://evolvebg.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/pages/blog/eiffel-tower-waves.webp?width=1200&height=675&name=eiffel-tower-waves.webp)

250+

Global payment hosts

<https://evolvebg.co.uk/case-studies/national-museums-liverpool-wifi>

Read More

### Enhancing the museum experience: Guest Wi-Fi for 3 million annual visitors

![Enhancing the museum experience: Guest Wi-Fi for 3 million annual visitors](https://evolvebg.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/website/graphics/OPGs/pages/blog/museum-of-liverpool.webp?width=1200&height=675&name=museum-of-liverpool.webp)

7

venues connected with guest Wi-Fi infrastructure.

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