Pre-tax losses at Welcome Break, Britain's second largest motorway services operator, soared 152% to £62.4m in the year ending last September. Accounts filed at Companies House also show the chain has downgraded the value of its property sites by £100m after a site-by-site review. The 26 service stations include South Mimms on the M25, Keele on the M6 in Staffordshire and Membury on the M4 in Wiltshire. Welcome Break, owned by Investcorp, has been struggling for some time because of heavy debt repayments and predictions of sales growth that never materialised. Consumer groups have also criticised motorway service stations over the poor quality and expensive food. Rival Roadchef is struggling, too. Earlier this year it was in danger of breaching its debt agreement unless there was a considerable improvement in business. The Mail on Sunday 05/09/04 (Financial Mail) page 5

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