CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- As part of a sale-leaseback deal with VPS Convenience Store Group and Virginia Oil Co., The Cogent Group has acquired 12 convenience stores and gas stations in the Charlottesville, Va., market. The properties are leased to Virginia Oil, which sells premium fuels under the BP, CITGO and Liberty brands.
Cogent's real-estate purchase was part of a simultaneous transaction among The Cogent Group, Sun Capital Partners Inc. affiliate VPS and Virginia Oil. In conjunction with VPS' acquisition of Virginia Oil, Cogent acquired Virginia Oil's fee-owned properties [image-nocss] through a concurrent sale-leaseback transaction.
(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of the VPS deal with Charlottesville, Va.-based Virginia Oil.)
The properties are subject to long-term triple net leases having an initial term of 20 years, plus renewal options. The 12 stores are modern, well maintained and sit on prime retail corners, totaling approximately 21 acres. The value of these assets is enhanced by fast-food partnerships with McDonald's, Blimpie and Dairy Queen.
"The purchase of these assets and long-term partnership with VPS, is a great fit for our investment strategy as we continue to add to our real estate portfolio of triple-net lease properties throughout the United States," said Joe Longbotham, a co-founder and principal of Cogent.
Longbotham added that the sale-leaseback acquisition was an instrumental component to the overall M&A transaction. Dallas-based Cogent provides sale-leaseback financing, on a principal basis, which is used for acquisitions, recapitalizations and exit financing for retail, industrial and office portfolios for $2 million to $100 million transactions throughout the country.
"We are pleased to have been able to acquire these high-quality assets with strong operational histories in the Charlottesville market, which has attractive demographics, and a vibrant economy largely defined by the University of Virginia," said Dana Goldsmith, a principal of Cogent. "We are equally pleased to further develop our relationship with VPS Convenience Store Group, a well-respected and growing convenience and gas station operator, as VPS expands its presence in the Mid-Atlantic."
VPS, headquartered in Wilmington, N.C., now operates 419 stores in seven states in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
[Pictured: A Virginia Oil c-store and gas station in Charlottesville, Va., one of the 12 fee-owned properties acquired by The Cogent Group.]
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