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This is an unbranded (no fuel contract) gas station and convenience store in Ontario, California, operating on a leased site with a 15-year lease and below-market rent of roughly $8,900 per month including NNN. The station pumps about 150,000 to 171,000 gallons monthly at a pooled margin of 35 cents per gallon, and the attached 1,500 square foot C-store does around $80,000 in monthly sales at a 42 percent markup. The site sits on a 22,000 square foot lot with new tanks and four multi-product dispensers, and benefits from a brand-new McDonald's next door that should drive additional traffic.
The listing claims net profit of roughly $40,000 per month plus an additional $1,500 per week from U-Haul rentals that is reportedly not included in that figure. The listing headline cites $540,000 EBITDA against a $3,000,000 asking price (about 5.56x), after a stated $500,000 price drop. There is currently no lottery and no beer/wine license, both of which the seller notes could be added.
The seller cites a partnership dispute as the reason for sale, and SBA financing is reportedly approved with 30 percent down. Inventory of about $100,000 is not included in the price, while $125,000 of FF&E is included. Being unbranded with no fuel supply contract gives an operator flexibility on fuel sourcing but also removes the brand-driven traffic and credit-card program support that a branded station enjoys.
Why we like it
- Fuel and convenience retail is genuinely non-discretionary: people buy gas and basic C-store items in any economy, which gives this business durable demand through a downturn. Volumes of 150,000 to 171,000 gallons per month indicate an established traffic base rather than a startup ramp.
- The real cost advantage here is the lease: $8,900 per month all-in including NNN on a 22,000 square foot lot with a 15-year runway is well below what comparable corner sites command. Low, locked-in occupancy cost is the single biggest lever in station economics and protects margin.
- Being unbranded with no fuel supply contract means the operator is free to shop fuel sourcing for the best rack price rather than being locked to a jobber's branded pricing. Combined with the new McDonald's next door driving incremental foot traffic, there is tailwind on both the fuel and C-store sides.
- There are clear, untapped margin layers an operator can add: no lottery and no beer/wine license today, plus existing U-Haul income of roughly $6,000 per month that the seller says is not even in the stated net profit. That is real upside sitting on top of the base case.
How to improve it
- Add beer and wine and lottery immediately. These are two of the highest-margin, lowest-effort add-ons in C-store retail and the seller explicitly flags both as available; a beer/wine license alone can meaningfully lift basket size and in-store margin within the first few months.
- Reconcile and formalize the U-Haul income. At $1,500 per week it is roughly $78,000 annually of high-margin ancillary revenue; verify it, put it on the books, and lean into it with better signage and placement to capture more rental volume from the new McDonald's traffic.
- Shop the fuel supply aggressively since there is no contract. Negotiate rack pricing across multiple suppliers and consider a branding deal only if the imaging allowance and credit-card economics beat the current unbranded setup, otherwise press the sourcing flexibility to widen the per-gallon margin above 35 cents.
- Optimize the 1,500 square foot C-store mix toward high-velocity, high-margin categories: tobacco alternatives, energy drinks, snacks, and prepared/grab-and-go to capture the McDonald's overflow. Even a few points of markup improvement on $80,000 monthly sales flows straight to the bottom line.
- Extend store hours and tighten shrink controls. Many single-operator unbranded stations leak profit through poor inventory control and short hours; implement a POS with inventory tracking and camera-verified cash handling, which is also what an SBA lender and future buyer will want to see.
- Resolve and document the ownership situation driving the sale. The partnership dispute reason means the entity may carry unresolved disputes; get clean financials and clear title to the lease and assets so the business can be run and eventually resold without legal overhang.
Diligence notes
- The headline is internally inconsistent: it advertises $40,000 per month net profit (about $480,000 per year) while the listing fields cite $540,000 EBITDA, and gross revenue is Not Disclosed. Demand three years of tax returns, fuel purchase and sales records, and C-store POS reports to establish real, verifiable cash flow before trusting any multiple.
- At a $3,000,000 asking price for a leased station (no real estate included), you are paying about 5.56x for goodwill and FF&E on a site you do not own. Scrutinize what you are actually buying: $125,000 FF&E is included but inventory of $100,000 is not, so true all-in cost is higher and the goodwill premium is steep for a landlord-dependent business.
- The 15-year lease is the core asset, so read it in full. Confirm the $8,900 rent, escalation clauses, NNN responsibilities, renewal options, assignability on sale, and any landlord consent required for an SBA transfer; if the lease cannot be assigned or renewed cleanly, the entire thesis collapses.
- Verify the environmental condition given new tanks were installed. Require tank test records, monitoring compliance, and a Phase I (and Phase II if warranted) because fuel contamination liability can exceed the purchase price and will be a condition of SBA financing.
- Confirm the stated gross margins are real and sustainable: a 35 cent pooled fuel margin and 42 percent C-store markup are on the favorable side for an unbranded station, so check whether these reflect recent spikes or normalized performance. Also validate the U-Haul contract terms and whether that income transfers to a new owner.
- Probe the partnership dispute reason for sale. Confirm there are no liens, pending litigation, or claims against the business or lease, and ensure both partners can deliver clear title; a forced or contested sale can leave undisclosed obligations that attach to the buyer.
Source
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