Slateshire Finance arranges gas station and convenience store business loans in Sanford, NC and Lee County: inventory funding for fuel and store stock, equipment financing for coolers and dispensers, and term loans for buying a station. This page covers the station cash cycle, gas station loan requirements, what a purchase involves and Lee County station figures.
| Gasoline station employers, Lee County, NC | 28 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Employees | 209 |
| Convenience store employers | 6, all under five employees |
| Gas station employers in ZIP 27330 | 20 (ZBP 2023) |
The station cash cycle
If a fuel load is paid for on delivery while card settlements arrive a day or two later, a station can be short of cash on the day a load arrives even when sales are strong. Inside the store, beverages, snacks, tobacco and grocery items are restocked on a regular cycle.
Regular restocking is where inventory financing or a revolving line sized to the delivery schedule can fit.
Equipment: coolers, dispensers and the canopy
Walk-in coolers, reach-in doors, ice machines, food-service equipment, fuel dispensers, point-of-sale systems and canopy lighting are all financeable equipment. Equipment financing spreads each purchase over its working life.
Underground storage tanks and their monitoring systems are a separate category, which a partner may review separately; confirm any requirements with each office.
Small business loans for a gas station purchase in Lee County, NC
A term loan can finance buying a station. A commercial loan for a gas station can involve the business, the land and buildings, the fuel equipment and the opening stock. Partners may look at the seller's fuel gallons and inside sales, the fuel supply agreement, the property's condition and an environmental assessment.
Illustration only, not an offer or a typical figure: if a station's books show strong fuel volume but thin inside sales, partners will ask how the new owner expects the store side to perform, because the plan has to rest on both halves of the business.
Gas station loan requirements and financing requirements, item by item
- Several years of tax returns and profit and loss statements, from the seller for a purchase
- Gallons pumped and inside-store sales reports
- The fuel supply or branding agreement
- An environmental assessment of the site, if a partner asks for one on a purchase
- Statements from the bank and the card processor
- Quotes for any equipment
Each partner sets its own requirements, and none are published here. A purchase request can involve more documentation than an equipment or inventory request.
Convenience store business loans without fuel
A convenience store without pumps has the same restock and equipment needs, minus the fuel cycle and tank questions. Inventory financing, equipment financing for coolers and a line of credit for timing are structures to consider, and a purchase follows the term loan route above.
Lee County, NC stations and c-stores in the Census counts
County Business Patterns counted 28 gasoline station employers in Lee County, NC in 2023, with 209 employees and about $4.8 million in payroll. Nine (32.1%) had fewer than five employees, and 20 were in ZIP 27330. By our arithmetic the average station had about 7.5 employees and payroll per employee was about $22,904.
Convenience stores without fuel counted 6 employers with 9 employees, all with fewer than five employees, five of them in ZIP 27330. Nonemployer Statistics for 2024 found 4 no-payroll convenience retailers; the county file publishes no nonemployer figure for gas stations.
Grocery stores, a related stock-driven business, numbered 21 employers with 630 employees. County-wide retail figures are on the Sanford, NC page, and other stores are on the retail page.
