What should I check when buying a gas station directly from its owner?

A gas station sale involves more parties than most small businesses: the owner, a fuel supplier or brand, often a landlord and a lender. When the owner sells without a broker, you hold the checklist. Ask for each item in writing, keep the replies together and give the whole file to your advisers before you commit. Expect some answers to take weeks, and ask the owner to say plainly which items they cannot provide.

The fuel supplier and the brand

Ask to read the supply agreement and ask whether the supplier or brand has to approve a new owner. Find out what happens to the brand signage and any payment cards when ownership changes. Approval can take time, so raise it with the owner early, and ask whether the owner has already spoken with the supplier about a sale. The detail is in checking the fuel supply agreement.

Equipment and sales records

Pumps, tanks and signs may belong to the supplier, not the owner. Ask for a list showing who owns what, and compare it with the supplier’s own records of what it owns. Ask for fuel and store sales reported separately, because each earns money in a different way and a combined figure hides that.

Site records and the lease

Ask the owner for the records they hold on the site and the tanks, including inspection and maintenance paperwork, and have your lawyer decide which further searches to order. If the land is leased, read the lease and ask the landlord how they see the change of owner. Do not assume the owner’s arrangements carry over unchanged. Ask what the owner would hand over at closing, such as keys, passwords, supplier contacts and account records, and who will train you on the daily routine.