Business only
Buying a gas station business without the real estate
This page is for buying the operation — the inventory, the equipment, the goodwill and the right to run the site — while the property stays with someone else and you lease it. If the real estate is part of your purchase, that is a different loan and a different page.
Step 1 of 5
Buy or refinance commercial property
About the property
Start with what it is and what you're trying to do.
How a business-only purchase is financed
Without the land and building there is no durable real estate securing the loan. What secures it instead is the business: its equipment, its inventory, its cash flow and usually your personal guarantee. Lenders price and structure that differently, and terms are generally shorter than on a purchase that includes the property.
The SBA 7(a) programme is still the most common route, because it was built for buying an existing business and does not require you to own the premises. Where it does not fit, business acquisition lenders and private lenders through our network take these on, and equipment financing can cover dispensers, coolers or a point-of-sale system separately.
The lease becomes the centre of the file. A lender is being asked to fund a business that exists only as long as you can occupy the site, so the remaining term, the renewal options, the rent and the landlord's consent to assignment are read as carefully as the financial statements.
What lenders look at
The lease
Remaining term, renewal options, rent, and whether the landlord will consent to the transfer. A short lease with no options is the most common reason one of these stalls.
Cash flow
What the operation actually earns after rent and expenses, and whether it covers the payment with room to spare.
Fuel volume and inside sales
Gallons a month, store sales and the product mix — the same numbers a property purchase turns on, because they are the business.
Your experience
This weighs heavily here. You are buying an operation, not a building, and the lender is underwriting your ability to run it.
What you are actually buying
Equipment, inventory, goodwill — how the price splits across them matters to how it can be financed.
The supply agreement
Who supplies the fuel and what obligations come with it, including any that survive the change of operator.
Your credit and your contribution
Personal credit and the cash you put in. Both carry more weight when there is no real estate behind the loan.
Environmental responsibility
Read who carries it under the lease. A tenant can be exposed to more than they expect on a fuel site.
Questions we get asked
Can I finance a station business with no property at all?
Yes. It is a business acquisition rather than a real estate loan, most often through the SBA 7(a). The terms are typically shorter than a purchase that includes the property.
How long does my lease need to be?
Lenders generally want the lease to run comfortably past the loan term, including options. Exactly how far is a lender-by-lender question — send us the lease and we will tell you what we are hearing on files like yours.
Does the landlord have to agree?
Almost always. The landlord's consent to the assignment, and often a landlord waiver for the lender, are part of closing. Start that conversation early.
Is it cheaper than buying the property too?
The loan is smaller, but not necessarily cheaper to service — there is no real estate securing it and the term is usually shorter. And you are paying rent on top.
Can I buy the property later?
Often yes, and many operators do. A purchase option in the lease is worth negotiating now even if you cannot use it for years.
Do I still need environmental work?
It depends on the lender and on what the lease makes you responsible for. Do not assume that leasing removes the question.
What if I have never run a station?
We place these. Tell us up front — some lenders weigh experience far more than others, and knowing that early changes who we approach.
Who this page is for
- Buyers taking over a station operation on a leased site.
- Operators buying a second or third location.
- Managers buying the business they currently run.
- Dealers taking on a branded site owned by someone else.
- Anyone whose seller is keeping the real estate.
What this financing covers
- The purchase price of the operating business.
- Opening inventory — fuel and store stock.
- Equipment included in the sale, or replacements for it.
- Working capital for the first months of operating.
- Franchise, branding or licence transfer costs.
- A refresh of the store after you take over.
The words you will hear, in plain English
- Business acquisition loan
- A loan to buy an existing operating business rather than a property. That is what this is, even though the business happens to sell fuel.
- Goodwill
- The part of the price that is not equipment or inventory — the value of an established, trading operation. It is financeable, but lenders treat it carefully.
- Assignment of lease
- The legal transfer of the existing lease from the seller to you. It usually needs the landlord's written consent.
- Landlord waiver
- A document in which the landlord acknowledges the lender's interest in the equipment and inventory on site. Frequently a closing condition.
- Personal guarantee
- Your personal promise to repay if the business cannot. Standard on business-only purchases, and on SBA loans it is required.
- Blanket lien
- Security over the business's assets generally rather than one named item. Common where there is no real estate to secure the loan.
- Seller note
- Part of the price left owed to the seller and repaid over time. Some lenders allow it toward your contribution on conditions.
- Supply agreement
- The fuel contract — brand, volume commitments, and how long it runs. It can transfer with the operation and bind you.
How these deals are put together
Illustrative structures to show how these purchases are usually assembled. Not offers, not quotes, and not terms available to anyone in particular — programmes, eligibility and figures vary by lender and by transaction.
Straight business acquisition
A buyer taking over an operation on a long lease with options. An SBA 7(a) covers the business, some equipment and working capital, with the lease assigned at closing.
Manager buying the business
Someone who already runs the site buying it from the owner. The operating history and the relationship with the landlord are already in place, which is usually the easiest version of this file.
Business now, equipment separately
The acquisition loan covers the going concern while dispensers, coolers or a point-of-sale system are financed on their own against the equipment.
Part financed, part owed to the seller
A seller willing to carry part of the price, alongside a lender covering the rest. Whether the seller note counts toward your contribution is a lender-by-lender question.
What to prepare
The lease is the first document to send. On a business-only purchase it decides more than anything else in the file.
- The lease, with any amendments and options
- Purchase agreement for the business
- Two to three years of business financial statements
- Business tax returns for the same period
- Fuel volume reports — gallons by month
- Inside sales figures and product mix
- A schedule of the equipment included in the sale
- An inventory estimate at closing
- Your personal financial statement and tax returns
- Your resume or operating history
- Entity papers: articles, operating agreement, EIN letter
- The fuel supply or brand agreement
From application to closing
- 1
Tell us the shape of the deal
Business only, leased site — and where. That tells us immediately which lenders to approach, because they are not the same ones a property purchase goes to.
- 2
The lease and the numbers
We read the remaining term and the options against the loan term, and the cash flow against the payment.
- 3
Application and documents
The list above. Financial statements and the lease are the two that hold files up.
- 4
Landlord consent
Assignment of the lease, and often a landlord waiver for the lender. Begin it early — it is outside your control and outside ours.
- 5
Valuation of the business
The going concern is valued, and the price is tested against what the operation earns.
- 6
Underwriting
Cash flow, your experience, your credit and your contribution. Conditions come back and we work them with you.
- 7
Closing
Funding, the inventory count, and the transfer of licences, permits and the supply agreement.
What goes wrong
A lease too short for the loan
The single biggest killer of these files. Check the remaining term and the options before you agree a price, not after.
Assuming the landlord will consent
They do not have to, and some will use the moment to reset the rent. Talk to them early.
Paying for goodwill the numbers do not support
Lenders test the price against what the business earns. A price built on hope stops at underwriting.
Forgetting that rent is now an expense
Without the property you carry rent forever. It has to work alongside the loan payment, not instead of it.
Not reading the supply agreement
Volume commitments and branding obligations can transfer to you and bind you for years.
Ignoring environmental liability in the lease
A tenant on a fuel site can carry more than expected. Have somebody read that clause before you sign.
Related financing
- Buying the station with the property →If the real estate is part of your purchase — a different loan.
- Business loans and lines of credit →Working capital once you are operating.
- Equipment financing →Dispensers, coolers, point of sale — financed against the equipment.
- SBA 7(a) →The programme most business acquisitions use.
- All gas station financing →Start again from the top if this is not your situation.
Tell us about the business
Start with what you are buying and how long the lease has to run.
Step 1 of 5
Buy or refinance commercial property
About the property
Start with what it is and what you're trying to do.
This is not an offer and not an approval. Terms are set by a lender, in writing, after underwriting, and vary by lender, by property and by file.
Get business acquisition options
Send us the operation, the lease term and what the site does in gallons and inside sales. We will tell you which lenders look at files like yours.