A Citgo location is a branded fuel asset, which means the pumps fly the Citgo mark under a supply agreement with a marketer or distributor rather than the refiner directly. That arrangement shapes everything about the deal. A buyer is acquiring a real estate position, a fuel volume, and a contract with branding and image obligations attached. A seller has to understand how those same obligations either add value or scare off financing. Citgo runs primarily through a jobber-supplied network, so the supply contract, remaining brand term, and image compliance status drive price as much as throughput and store sales. We broker these as fee-simple real estate, business-only, or combined deals, and the structure you choose changes the cap rate, the buyer pool, and the lending path. See our buy and sell services for how we run each side.
What a Citgo deal involves
A Citgo transaction is rarely just dirt and a canopy. You are buying or selling a package that includes the land and improvements, the fuel volume measured in monthly gallons, the convenience store business, and the branded supply agreement that ties the site to Citgo. Each piece prices differently. Fuel net profit is thin at a few cents per gallon even though 2025 gross margins averaged 40-plus cents per gallon, while in-store items carry 20% to 40% margins. The C-store is about 30% of revenue but roughly 70% of profit, so the store is usually where the real value sits.
Deals close as fee-simple real estate, as a business-only sale, or as a combined sale. Typical timelines run 3 to 6 months. Use our valuation calculator and read the due diligence checklist before you go to market.
Fuel supply, branding, and image obligations
Citgo is a branded fuel network supplied largely through jobbers and distributors. The buyer inherits a fuel supply agreement that dictates minimum gallon commitments, branding requirements, and image standards for the canopy, dispensers, signage, and store. These image obligations matter financially. A site that is out of compliance may owe a capital upgrade, and a brand term with only a year or two left carries reassignment and re-imaging risk that a lender and a buyer will both price in.
Before closing, confirm the remaining brand term, the supplier consent and assignment process, any image upgrade liability, and whether incentive money was advanced and must be repaid on transfer. Our jobber fuel supply agreement guide and branded vs unbranded breakdown cover the terms that move price.
Who buys a Citgo station
The buyer pool splits by deal structure. Owner-operators and small multi-site operators pursue the business or combined deal, often financing with an SBA 7(a) loan. About 60% of US C-store operators run a single store, so first-time and second-store buyers are a large part of the market. These buyers care about owner profit, which for a small-to-medium station often nets roughly $70K to $100K per year and can reach $100K to $500K by site.
Passive investors pursue the real estate, especially when a strong tenant signs a long net lease. Those buyers compare a Citgo against other NNN gas stations and branded assets, and many arrive through a 1031 exchange looking for absolute NNN replacement property.
Valuation and cap rates
Branded gas stations price near a 5.6% cap rate nationally, roughly 5.58% with fuel included and 6.87% without fuel. Geography moves the number. Florida is tightest near 5.11%, Texas runs about 5.63%, the Carolinas sit 5.0% to 5.5%, Tennessee 5.4% to 5.75%, and weaker markets push to 6.0%, 6.5%, or higher. For reference, top brands like Wawa trade 4.83% to 5.20%, 7-Eleven 5.00% to 5.40%, Murphy USA near 5.13%, and Circle K 5.35% to 5.65%.
On a multiple basis, business-only Citgo deals trade at 2.5x to 4.0x EBITDA, combined deals at 4.0x to 7.0x, and real-estate-inclusive deals near 8x, reaching 7x to 9x in premium markets. Run scenarios in our cap rate calculator and review what a good cap rate is.
How to buy a Citgo station
Start by underwriting the three value drivers separately. Verify monthly fuel gallons, store sales and margins, and the remaining Citgo brand term. A busy urban station does 100,000 to 150,000 gallons per month against a US average near 4,000 gallons per day, so confirm the actual volume rather than the marketing figure.
Most owner-operator buyers use SBA 7(a) financing up to $5M, with a 15% minimum equity injection on special-purpose gas stations, real estate terms up to 25 years, and June 2026 rates around 9% to 11.5% APR variable. A Phase I ESA at $1,800 to $3,500 under ASTM E1527-21 is required for SBA fuel deals because of underground storage tanks. Conventional buyers often face 30% to 40% down since many banks avoid USTs under CERCLA. See the finance page and the SBA 7(a) guide.
How to sell a Citgo station
Sellers win by resolving the issues that scare buyers and lenders before the listing goes live. Pull tank test and compliance records, confirm the remaining brand term and any image upgrade obligation, and assemble clean fuel and store financials. A long brand term and a compliant image package widen the buyer pool and tighten the cap rate, while a short term or a looming re-image push it the other way.
Decide the structure early. A combined real estate and business sale reaches the most buyers, while a sale-leaseback can separate the real estate value if you want to keep operating. Business broker commissions run 10% to 20% on business-only deals and about 6% to 10% on real-estate-inclusive deals. Explore a sale-leaseback with our calculator, or read how to sell a gas station.
