PRA Appoints NI Representative

Following its successful return to Northern Ireland some three years ago, the PRA has now appointed a local representative to look after all its interests on a daily basis.

Brian Madderson, who has been closely involved with reviving membership numbers and improving relationships with both national and local Government, visited Belfast last month to finalise arrangements with thr new representative David Cox with the full backing of the local PRA Committee led by Richard Law.

The party took time to see the Maxol forecourt at Marino, Holywood, which is being operated by the Law family.

David Cox started as a Texaco licensee in the 1980s acquiring his first site from Texaco at Saintfield in 1992.  Since that time, he and his wife Heather built the business into an impressive SPAR convenience store with major investment to expand the selling and storage space.

A successful career saw SPAR Saintfield Road win numerous industry awards, the final one being at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards 2014 at the Ramada Plaza in Belfast in October.

As a member of the PRA Committee for Northern Ireland, David has attended the Energy Select Committee inquiry into retail fuels pricing in 2013 at Stormont, the Land & Property Services consultation on business rates at forecourts and the DETINI proposals for dealing with any emergency supply situations.

David’s Saintfield Road business has recently been sold to Henderson Retail which gives David the welcome opportunity to “put something back into the industry” by taking on the PRA representative role.