About
Awards and recognition
A price site is only worth using if the prices are honest and you know who runs it. This page sets out both, with the official record behind every claim.
Where the prices come from
Every price on fuel.co.uk comes from the GOV.UK Fuel Finder feed, the official scheme under which forecourts must report a price change within 30 minutes. We collect it every 30 minutes for about 8,000 UK forecourts and show it as published: the price per gallon first, with the litre price the forecourt sign shows beside it.
We do not use reader reports, estimates or commercial data feeds. The details are on where our data comes from, and you can check the prices near you now.
Who stands behind the site
fuel.co.uk is a trading name of Car Operations Limited (Companies House 15693826), and is a Unison Automotive company. The parent, Unison Automotive Limited (Companies House 03143909), was incorporated on 5 January 1996 as New Reg Limited and took its present name on 21 October 2026. Both are registered at 5 Parkgate, 117 Liverpool Road, Longton, Preston PR4 5AA.
The other platforms in the group are on the group page, and the people who run them are on the team page.
Company awards
6 May 2026
King’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation
The company, then New Reg Limited and now Unison Automotive Limited, received the King’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for the system behind Car.co.uk. The official citation reads:
“AI-driven system, automating the identification and pricing of vehicles, providing seamless integrated holistic customer experience.”
Anthony Sharkey, the chief operating officer, met His Majesty King Charles III in connection with the award.
Evidence: The London Gazette, supplement 65058, page S3 (listed as NEWREG Ltd, Lancashire)
2025 and 2026
Sunday Times 100, two years running
Car.co.uk is in the Sunday Times 100 list of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies for the second year. In 2025 it ranked 74th, on sales of £22.7 million and three-year sales growth of 71.5 per cent. In 2026 it ranked 85th overall and 12th in the North West, on sales of £26.6 million to the end of November 2025.
Evidence: The Sunday Times 100 league table, Lancashire Business View, 5 June 2026
The founder’s honours
Steven T. Jackson OBE started the business in 1989, trading personalised registrations as a sole trader from home in Preston. He built fuel.co.uk himself, and his profile tells the longer story.
2013 New Year Honours
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
For services to employment and the community in Lancashire. Announced on 29 December 2012, and invested by The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on 12 March 2013.
Evidence: The London Gazette, issue 60367, page 11, letsrecycle.com
2019
EY Entrepreneur of the Year
Overall United Kingdom winner, and winner of its Societal Impact category, both on the same day.
Evidence: EY entrepreneur community, Financial Times
2020
EY World Entrepreneur of the Year
Represented the United Kingdom. The final, due to be held in Monaco, moved online because of COVID-19.
6 December 2011
Honorary Fellow, University of Central Lancashire
Conferred by the university, which lists its honorary fellows publicly.
Evidence: UCLan honorary fellows
2015
Entrepreneur of the Year, Growing Business Awards
Named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2015 Growing Business Awards.
Evidence: Lancashire Business View
2010
Entrepreneur of the Year, BIBAs
The Be Inspired Business Awards, run by the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, named him Entrepreneur of the Year.
Evidence: BIBAs winners history, Lancashire Business View
19 July 2010
Buckingham Palace reception for Queen’s Award winners
Met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace reception held for winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.
Evidence: Report of the reception
Four Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, won by Recycling Lives
These were Recycling Lives’ awards, and the credit belongs to the people who ran it: a recycling business that funded a charity helping vulnerable people into work. All four were won while Steven was its founder and chairman. He was the sole shareholder for the 2010, 2014 and 2018 awards, and the majority shareholder, with about 79 per cent, for the 2019 award, after Three Hills Capital Partners bought a 21 per cent stake in 2018. William Fletcher MBE, now chief executive of Unison Automotive Limited, was part of its management for the 2014, 2018 and 2019 awards.
| Year | Category | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sustainable Development | The London Gazette, issue 59397, page 4 |
| 2014 | Sustainable Development | The London Gazette, issue 60844, page 7 |
| 2018 | International Trade | The London Gazette, issue 62263, page S8 |
| 2019 | Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility) | The London Gazette, issue 62621, page S10 |
Steven stepped back from executive duties on 1 April 2017 and left Recycling Lives in 2020. It entered administration in 2024, four years later, under the management appointed after his departure.
The charity side lives on. Since 5 June 2026 it has been called Onward Lives, a change of name the trustees asked Steven to lead, and he led it himself. The charity tells its own story on its heritage page. Unison Automotive Limited continues to support Onward Lives as part of its social impact.
Check it for yourself
Every award above links to the official record or to the publication that reported it. Read more about fuel.co.uk, see how we verify our news, or compare today’s fuel price per gallon.