Building work starts next month on the country's first convenience store to feature an integral McDonald's fast food restaurant. The 6,000 sq ft facility is being built on a petrol forecourt on the A24 near Horsham by Margram, the firm behind the Supermart chain. Chairman David Davis said half the space in the new facility would be given over to McDonald's, the rest to one of his 24-hour Supermart stores, Both units will share a common entrance. Similar facilities can be found in Ireland, but this is a first for the UK. Davis said the project had come about as a result of Margram's status as McDonald's preferred roadside developer. He added: "We are jointly looking at other potential locations." His store will stock a range of 5,000 groceries, including fresh foods, alcohol, Costa coffee, and a Cuisine de France bakery. "We will put in the full offer, because even with bakery there is no conflict between our offer and McDonald's. The two are complementary," said Davis. And he was confident that with no rival shopping facilities nearby, the c-store, petrol offer and McDonald's would combine to create a high volume retail hub for the area. Margram was named as one of the companies to watch in our recent listing of the country's top independent operators. By the end of the next financial year, the company will have 30 sites either open or under development and will be turning over £200m ­ more than £40m of which will be accounted for by grocery sales. {{NEWS }}