Gas Station & C-Store
Gas station and convenience store financing
Buying a fuel station is really three possible deals: the real estate, the operating business, or both together. They are financed differently, by different lenders, and the first question we ask is which one you are doing — because getting that wrong costs weeks.
Step 1 of 5
Buy or refinance commercial property
About the property
Start with what it is and what you're trying to do.
What are you financing?
These are different loans with different lenders. Pick the one that sounds like your deal and we will take you to the right page.
The Business + the Property
You are buying the land, the building and the operating station together.
There is real estate securing the loan, so terms are usually longer. Environmental work on the site sets the timeline.
Start here →The Business Only / Leasing the Site
You are buying the operation while the property stays with someone else.
A business acquisition rather than a property loan. The lease — its remaining term and options — decides most of the file.
Start here →Refinancing One I Already Own
Replacing existing debt on your station, or taking cash out of it.
Your own operating history carries the file. Environmental requirements still apply on a refinance.
Start here →Equipment or Improvements
Dispensers, tanks, canopy, coolers, point of sale, or a store remodel.
Financed against the equipment itself, separately from any loan on the station.
Start here →Why a fuel station is its own kind of deal
The underground storage tanks make it special-purpose property. A Phase I environmental report is required before anyone funds, a Phase II follows if the first one finds anything, and that timeline — not the loan paperwork — usually decides when you close.
Because it is special purpose, the down payment runs higher than on an ordinary retail building. Lenders also look hard at fuel volume, inside sales, the brand or supply agreement, and whether the tanks are steel or fibreglass and how old they are.
Most of these fund through SBA programmes, which is why a buyer taking on the operating business often gets better terms than a pure investor would — the SBA is built for an owner-operator. Where the deal is real estate only, or the file does not suit the SBA, it goes to conventional commercial or private lenders instead.
What lenders look at
What you are buying
Real estate only, the business only, or both. This decides the product before anything else does.
The tanks and the environmental
Age, material and history. A Phase I is mandatory; a Phase II if it finds anything. This is usually the long pole.
Fuel volume and inside sales
Gallons a month and what the store sells. Inside margin often matters more to a lender than fuel margin.
Your experience
Whether you have run a station or a c-store before. It carries real weight on a business purchase.
Owner-occupied or investment
An owner-operator has routes an investor does not, particularly through the SBA.
The brand or supply agreement
Who supplies the fuel and on what terms, including any remaining obligations that come with the site.
Questions we get asked
Can I finance the property and the business together?
Often, yes — that is one of the most common structures, and the SBA 7(a) is built for it. We ask up front which of the three you are doing because it changes which lenders we approach.
How much do I need to put down?
More than on a house. Special-purpose property calls for a larger share than an ordinary building does, and the exact figure depends on the lender, the programme and your experience. We tell you what the lenders we would approach actually publish once we see the deal.
What is a Phase I, and do I really need one?
It is an environmental assessment of the site's history and condition. Yes — for a fuel station it is required, and no lender will fund without it. If it finds something, a Phase II follows.
What if the tanks are old?
It does not automatically stop the deal, but it affects the environmental work, the price, and sometimes which lenders will look at it. Tell us the age and material early.
I already own it and want cash out. Can you help?
Yes — a refinance or cash-out on a station you already operate is a normal request, and the environmental requirements still apply.
Do I need experience running a station?
For a business purchase it matters a great deal. For real estate only it matters less. Tell us honestly either way; it changes who we approach, not whether we will help.
Who this page is for
- Buyers purchasing a station, with or without the property.
- Operators buying a second or third site.
- Owners refinancing a station they already hold.
- Dealers taking on a branded site.
- Operators funding new dispensers, tanks, a canopy or a store remodel.
What this financing covers
- The real estate — land, building and canopy.
- The operating business, including inventory and goodwill.
- Fuel equipment: dispensers, tanks, monitoring, point of sale.
- Working capital for the first months after taking over.
- A rebrand, a remodel or a c-store expansion.
- Refinancing existing station debt, or taking cash out.
The words you will hear, in plain English
Station financing has its own vocabulary, and most of it is about the fuel rather than the loan.
- Special-purpose property
- A building that suits one use and few others. That is why a station is appraised, insured and financed differently from an ordinary retail unit.
- UST
- Underground storage tank. Age, material and monitoring history drive the environmental review and sometimes the price.
- Phase I ESA
- An environmental site assessment — records, history and a site visit, no drilling. Required on a fuel site.
- Phase II ESA
- The follow-up when a Phase I finds something: soil and groundwater sampling. It adds time and cost.
- Going concern
- The business as a trading whole rather than the bricks. It is valued separately from the real estate.
- Inside sales
- What the store sells apart from fuel. The margin here often matters more to a lender than the fuel margin does.
- Supply agreement
- The fuel contract: brand, volume commitments and remaining term. It can transfer with the site and bind the new operator.
- Owner-occupied
- You will run the business on the site rather than lease it out. It is the condition most SBA programmes are built around.
The shapes a station deal takes
Illustrative situations, to show how these differ by what is being bought. Not offers, not quotes, and not terms available to anyone in particular — programmes, eligibility and figures vary by lender and by transaction.
The property and the business together
Real estate securing the loan, so terms are generally longer. Most of these go through the SBA for an owner-operator.
The business on a leased site
No land behind the loan; the lease and the cash flow carry it. A different lender list and usually a shorter term.
Refinancing one you already own
Your own operating history is the strongest evidence in the file. The environmental requirements still apply.
Equipment and improvements only
Dispensers, tanks, coolers or a store remodel, financed against the equipment rather than the site.
What to prepare
Whatever you are buying, these are the documents that start the conversation. The environmental and the volumes are the two that set the pace.
- The purchase contract, or the existing loan payoff
- 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
- Tank details: age, material, monitoring, testing records
- Any existing environmental reports
- The fuel supply or brand agreement
- The lease, if the site is leased
- Your resume or operating history
- Entity papers: articles, operating agreement, EIN letter
- Proof of funds for your contribution
How a station deal runs
- 1
Decide what you are buying
Property, business, or both. It is the first question because it decides which lenders even look at the file.
- 2
The numbers
Fuel volume by month, inside sales, and the asking price. Everything else follows these.
- 3
Application and documents
Financials, tax returns, volume reports, entity papers and the supply agreement.
- 4
Environmental
A Phase I, and a Phase II if the first raises anything. On most station deals this — not the loan — sets the closing date.
- 5
Appraisal and valuation
The real estate is appraised as special-purpose property; the business, where it is part of the deal, is valued on its own.
- 6
Underwriting
The operation, the property, your experience and your contribution. Conditions come back and we work through them with you.
- 7
Closing
Funding, plus the transfer of licences, permits and the fuel supply agreement.
What goes wrong
Starting the environmental late
The most common reason a station closing slips. Order the Phase I as early as the contract allows.
Not knowing the tank position
Age, material, monitoring, testing history. It is the first thing a lender asks and the answer should be ready.
Financials that do not reconcile
Gallons, inside sales and the tax returns need to tell one story.
Treating it like ordinary retail
Special-purpose property has its own appraisal, its own insurance and its own contribution expectations.
Skipping the supply agreement
Volume commitments and branding obligations transfer with the site and can bind you for years.
Being unsure which deal you are doing
Business, property, or both. Answering that on the question above saves everyone a fortnight.
Related financing
- Buying with the real estate →Land, building and the operating business together.
- Buying the business only →The operation, on a site you lease.
- Commercial real estate →Other commercial property types and how they are financed.
- Equipment financing →Dispensers, coolers and point of sale, financed on their own.
- SBA 7(a) →The programme most station purchases use.
Tell us about the station
Start with what you're buying — the property, the business, or both.
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.
Looking at a station?
Send us the site and what you are trying to do. We will tell you which structure fits and what the environmental work will mean for your timeline.