RICHMOND, Va. — Heas Energy Services LLC has entered into an agreement to acquire the long-term leasehold and business interest in 10 gas station and convenience-store sites in central Virginia. It is rebranding the fuel and c-stores to 76 and 7-Eleven, respectively.
The network of stores is tightly clustered around the Lynchburg, Va., trade area. The chain consists of eight company-operated c-stores that operate under the Express Lane brand and two locations that operate under the commission agent class of trade.
The retail network was previously operated by a local ExxonMobil petroleum distributor and c-store operator.
All of the sites sold ExxonMobil-branded motor fuel products, but shortly after the transaction closed, Heas Energy converted them to Houston-based Motiva Enterprises’ 76 motor fuel brand. It also plans to upgrade all of the network’s motor fuel dispensing facilities, re-image the sites to the 76 brand and convert a portion of the c-store chain to the 7-Eleven brand over the next several years.
Petroleum Capital and Real Estate LLC (PetroCapRE), acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Heas Energy, provided professional assistance in the initial financial due diligence process, acquisition modeling, lease and supply agreement negotiations and procurement of the other capital required to close the overall transaction.
“This was a great opportunity for [Heas Energy] to establish a new long-term supply relationship with Motiva Enterprises LLC and acquire the control of 10 premium real estate sites during an uncertain period of time in the [convenience and gasoline] industry,” said John Flippen, managing director and principal of Richmond, Va.-based PetroCapRE.
Founded in 2019 by Shiv Patel, Richmond, Va.-based Heas Energy is a downstream petroleum distributor that specializes in gasoline distribution and marketing. Heas Energy President Shiv Patel is also the COO and a stakeholder in a Sunoco and ExxonMobil branded wholesale petroleum distributor, Sun Fuel LLC, Prince George, Va., which operates an independently branded c-store chain, Star Express, and is a Subway, Wendy’s and Huddle House franchisee. All of Sun Fuel’s retail sites and supply-only customers are located in the states of Virginia, South Carolina or North Carolina.
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