Couche-Tard accepting offers on 37 sites across six provinces in Canada

Alimentation Couche-Tard is working with Chicago-based NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC to coordinate and manage the sale of 306 convenience and gas sites in North America. 

Last week, Couche-Tard announced it had signed a deal to sell 49 stores in Oklahoma to Casey's General Stores Inc. for US$39 million. And, that it was selling other sites across North America following a strategic review.

"The decision to divest select stores fits within the company's network optimization strategy and follows a comprehensive and uniform network planning process that began in the fall of 2020,'' Couche-Tard CEO Brian Hannasch said in a statement. "Through this process, we have identified sites that no longer fit our strategic objectives, either from a brand perspective or from a regional scale perspective.''

Plans include selling 269 sites across 29 states in the United States, and 37 sites across six provinces in Canada. The stores have an average building size of approximately 2,600 sq. ft. and an average lot size of 29,500 sq. ft. Of the 306 sites, 122 are fee-owned and 184 are leased, while 238 properties sell fuel and 68 are convenience only.

“We are excited to assist Circle K in this sale, and we expect great interest from a wide range of retailers large and small, as well as other players who have expressed active interest in the convenience store industry,” Evan Gladstone, NRC’s executive managing director, said in a release. “These stores are being offered in packages, grouped primarily by geography, and provide many excellent opportunities for regional and local players to acquire attractive properties."

According to information provided by NRC, the packages are further subdivided into smaller pools. Offers will be considered for a single package, multiple or all packages, a single pool or any combination of pools. Offers on individual stores, or less than all of the stores in a pool, will not be considered, except for a small number of stores which are offered as a single-site pool.

The stores are all offered with or without fuel supply and without the signature Circle K convenience store brand.

Expressions of interest are due on or before May 7, 2021. For information, visit the NRC website.