DCC Energy has agreed to buy Shell’s fuel retail business in France, according to a person familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters, a deal that matters to fuel retailers and energy distributors because it shows an Irish group expanding into branded European forecourts as oil majors concentrate retail investment on fewer markets.

DCC Energy is a Dublin-based energy sales and distribution company serving millions of industrial and public sector customers across Europe and the US, with Irish brands including Certa fuel stations, which employs around 400 people, and Flogas, which serves over 250,000 customers.

Shell is a UK-based energy company with more than 42,000 Shell-branded mobility sites in over 80 markets, whose marketing unit reported $1.3 billion in adjusted second-quarter earnings.

The transaction would cover around 70 sites, eight LNG installations and 35 employees, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2027 subject to consultation with employee representatives. DCC Energy would operate the stations under a long-term Shell brand licence and source its own fuel, as Shell’s core fuel supply operations are excluded.

Shell told Reuters: “Shell is considering a sale of its retail forecourts business in France.” DCC Energy declined to comment.

The sale follows a narrowing of Shell’s retail footprint: Shell-branded mobility locations fell to 42,724 in 2025 from 44,109 in 2024, and the company plans to spend 80% of mobility cash capital expenditure in 10 key markets.

Shell operates different models across its markets, from full site ownership to brand licensing, and the France structure follows the licensing route.

Shell has separately agreed to take full ownership of a US convenience retailer, consistent with concentrating retail capital in priority markets.

DCC Energy itself is being acquired: shareholders approved a takeover by a private equity consortium on 18 September with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027, ahead of the Shell deal’s expected second-quarter 2027 completion.

For the sector, a retailer taking over branded forecourts under licence while sourcing its own fuel illustrates how oil majors can reduce retail ownership without leaving a market.

Source: Irish Examiner / SEC / Fuels & Lubes / RTE