Lakerun Commercial Capital in Findlay, Ohio helps gas station and convenience store owners request funding for store stock, coolers and dispensers, remodels, and buying an existing station. Partners read fuel and store sales, supplier terms and the purchase agreement, then set any terms. Hancock County, OH counts for both trades are below.
At a glance
- Gasoline station employer establishments, Hancock County, OH
25 (CBP 2023)
- Convenience store employer establishments
11 (CBP 2023)
- Both trades together
36, stations plus c-stores by our sum (CBP 2023)
One canopy, two businesses
A station is a fuel business and a store business at once. Fuel moves in large loads paid on supplier terms; the store sells packaged food, drinks and other goods with its own stock cycle. Card fees, shrink and equipment repairs come out of both. Funding requests follow whichever side is short: store stock, a dispenser upgrade, a cooler wall, or the station's purchase price.
County Business Patterns counted 25 gasoline station and 11 convenience store employer establishments in Hancock County, OH in 2023, 36 by our sum. The stations had 257 employees and $8.0 million in payroll, about $31,101 per employee by our arithmetic; the convenience stores had 28 employees. In ZIP 45840, 22 stations and 10 convenience stores had an address (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
How to Buy a Gas Station? A Findlay, OH Answer
- Get the seller's statements, tax returns and fuel and store sales reports for recent years.
- Read the fuel supply agreement: brand, term, and whether it transfers to a buyer.
- Ask for environmental reports on the tanks and the site, and have them reviewed.
- Separate the price into real estate, equipment, inventory and the business itself.
- Request funding for the business and equipment side; Lakerun does not arrange real estate loans.
How to Get Funding for a Gas Station: A Hancock County, OH Answer
For a running station, the funding question is which bill: a cooler wall is equipment financing; store stock is inventory financing; a remodel is a term loan. A partner reads fuel gallons and store sales separately, since they carry different margins and different supplier terms.
A Gas Station Loan for Owners Around Findlay, OH
Illustration only, invented figures: a station replaces two dispensers and a canopy light package for $36,000, financed over 60 months at an illustrative annual rate of 10 percent. By our arithmetic that is about $765 a month and about $45,894 over the term. A partner compares that payment with the station's monthly cash flow after fuel and store costs.
Gas Station Funding for Owners Near Findlay, OH
The convenience store side carries its own stock question. Of the 11 Hancock County, OH convenience store employer establishments counted in 2023, 72.7% had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns 2023). A small store buying ahead for a promotion, or restocking after a cooler failure, has a short inventory gap that inventory financing or a credit line can bridge.
What to Know About Convenience Store Loans in Hancock County, OH
- Point-of-sale reports by department, so a partner can see store sales apart from fuel
- Supplier invoices and terms for packaged goods and drinks
- Equipment list: coolers, freezers, food-service equipment, security
- Lease or ownership papers for the site
- Any advance already being collected from card receipts
Gas Station Loan Requirements in Findlay, OH
Partners set their own requirements and Lakerun does not publish them. What a request needs in practice is a complete file: statements, sales reports, the fuel agreement, equipment quotes and, for a purchase, the agreement and environmental reports. Time in business, annual revenue and requested amount are the three required picks on Lakerun's request form.
A station that sells fuel under a supplier's brand may have obligations in that supply contract; read it before taking on new debt, and ask a lawyer about any clause that limits liens.
Card receipts and advances at the counter
Stations take a large share of sales by card, which makes them a common fit for a merchant cash advance. An advance is not a loan: it buys future card receipts and is collected as a share of sales. Because fuel sales run through the same card terminals, check how a holdback would apply to fuel receipts as well as store receipts before signing.
Remodels, food service and the store floor
A store remodel, a new food-service counter or a car wash bay is a one-time cost that earns back over years, which points to a term loan. Partners read the contractor's quote, the lease or ownership papers and how the station will keep selling fuel during the work. Food-service additions bring their own equipment: ovens, warmers and coolers that can be financed as equipment alongside the remodel loan.
Hancock County, OH also had 20 grocery store employer establishments in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), a trade with similar cooler and stock costs; see retail store loans for that side.
Fuel supply and lien questions before a Hancock County, OH station request
- Does the fuel supply agreement limit new liens or require the supplier's consent?
- Are the dispensers, tanks and canopy owned, leased or supplied by the fuel brand?
- Is an advance already being collected from card receipts?
- How are fuel and store sales reported, and do they match bank deposits?
- For a purchase, what share of the price is real estate, which Lakerun does not arrange?
By Lakerun Commercial Capital · Updated