Extra operates eight sites
Typical brands are those found at the majority of Extra service areas. Other brands are less common, and may only be at one or two sites.
Note that where a service area comprises two separate inline facilities on opposite sides of the road, a brand may only be available on one side rather than both.
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Extra MSA Group is the newest of Britain's major motorway service operators. It is smaller than Moto, Welcome Break and Roadchef, with eight service areas in England. It is still among the best known, because its sites include some of the busiest in the country.
Extra came about after the government opened up the motorway service market to more competition. Its first site opened in December 2000 at Cambridge on the A14. It later brought in other sites, and by 2007 the Gold Star service areas it had acquired were operating under the Extra brand.
Extra currently operates eight motorway service areas: Baldock (A1(M) J10), Beaconsfield (M40 J2), Blackburn with Darwen (M65 J4), Cambridge (A14(M11) J24), Cobham (M25 J9/10), Cullompton (M5 J28), Leeds Skelton Lake (M1 J45) and Peterborough (A1(M) J17). Cobham, which opened in September 2012, is the busiest service station in the UK. The company built Cobham and Beaconsfield, two of the largest and busiest new service areas on the strategic road network.
Leeds Skelton Lake, which opened in 2020, is Extra's newest site and one of only three new motorway service areas to open in the UK in a decade. It has a timber-framed facilities building with a green living roof, a 100-bedroom hotel and improved access to the neighbouring lake. It was rated highly in the 2026 Which? survey of motorway services.
EV charging is a major focus. Extra says it was the first motorway service operator to exceed the government's target of at least six high-powered chargers at each service area. Working with charging provider Ionity, it has installed 24 chargers of 400kW each at Cambridge, Cobham, Peterborough, Blackburn and Baldock. In June 2026 it added 10 more at Leeds Skelton Lake, bringing that site to 16. All of Ionity's power comes from renewable sources through a partnership with Octopus Energy. Extra has said it aims to increase its charging capacity by almost 300% by the end of 2026, and it also works with GRIDSERVE.
Extra is still growing. Work has started on a new service area at Warrington off Junction 11 of the M62, with completion aimed for late 2027. The company has also gained planning permission for a site at Solihull on the M42.
Extra's strategy is to build fewer but larger and more modern sites than its rivals, with a strong focus on food, facilities and charging. If Warrington and Solihull go ahead, the group will grow from eight sites to ten.
