whats involved in starting up a petrol station?

[carrera15]

Im looking for some advice. I have seen a petrol station forecourt that looking to buy.

Does anybody know whats involved?

The petrol station in question was run(badly) up until recently when it closed down.

The owner had leased it outand now has put it up for sale.

How does the supply of fuel work?
Ive heard that you have to put down a deposit for fuel, is this true?

Thanks in advance for any and all help

 

[stugster]

My first thought would be how else you could use the space rather than selling petrol. At the moment in Edinburgh, there are loads of drive-thru car washes springing up where they high-pressure wash your car for £6.

Would a petrol station have good margins compared to a carwash?

 

[carrera15]

My first thought would be how else you could use the space rather than selling petrol. At the moment in Edinburgh, there are loads of drive-thru car washes springing up where they high-pressure wash your car for £6.

Would a petrol station have good margins compared to a carwash?

Yeah I would open a car wash if the property wasnt so expensive, as it is the actual buisness until it closed was very profitable there was a very high turnover for it being a single forecourt, there is room for expansion aswell which is why its still in my view an excellent proposition, the only thing is I have put in everything I have to buy the buisness, I wouldnt have much left if any, to put towards a fuel deposit

 

[carrera15]

As with regards to a car wash margins the only overheads are the chemicals (which are diluted down alot!) water electricity and minimum wage paid to the workers!

It is reckoned that it cost around 15pence(!) worth of chemicals to wash a car so yes the margins are good

 

[adventurelife]

Do your research and then do some more. Petrol stations are going out of business all the time!

It needs to be in an excellent location with lots of passing trade. I know that sounds blinking obvious but have you counted the passing trade on different days of the week and then measured it against trade at other petrol locations.

Competition is huge with the supermarkets discounting on fuel so again, location, location, location.

The margins on fuel are tiny so you need to sell a huge amount see above about location

The petrol companies normally require a huge deposit and payment upfront for delivery of fuel!! This may change when you build a long lasting relationship but then again they have no reason to give credit!

So taking the above into consideration you are not really opening a petrol station you are opening another type of business that happens to sell petrol as a by product and as a come on for potential customers to purchase from the real profit making business.

What that business should be is up to you after you have done the research into what would do well in the location.

Shop? garden center? car wash? car sales? ironmongers? etc . Most end up with several revenue streams as it is the only way to make them work.

I like old petrol stations my main business is located in one Cheap and on main roads

If you buy it and are in the right location I pay to advertise in petrol stations that have the right monthly footfall Something else that needs measured !

 

[carrera15]

Do your research and then do some more. Petrol stations are going out of business all the time!

It needs to be in an excellent location with lots of passing trade. I know that sounds blinking obvious but have you counted the passing trade on different days of the week and then measured it against trade at other petrol locations.

Competition is huge with the supermarkets discounting on fuel so again, location, location, location.

The margins on fuel are tiny so you need to sell a huge amount see above about location

The petrol companies normally require a huge deposit and payment upfront for delivery of fuel!! This may change when you build a long lasting relationship but then again they have no reason to give credit!

So taking the above into consideration you are not really opening a petrol station you are opening another type of business that happens to sell petrol as a by product and as a come on for potential customers to purchase from the real profit making business.

What that business should be is up to you after you have done the research into what would do well in the location.

Shop? garden center? car wash? car sales? ironmongers? etc . Most end up with several revenue streams as it is the only way to make them work.

I like old petrol stations my main business is located in one Cheap and on main roads

If you buy it and are in the right location I pay to advertise in petrol stations that have the right monthly footfall Something else that needs measured !

Hi, thanks for your help.

The actual station has a large shop which I plan to run, there is also a large lock up at the rear of the forecourt and from what I have seen there is a la of both passing cars and pedestrians. The shop is the main shop in the area and the nearest is a tesco around 2 miles from it, so im really not looking for much revenue from the petrol side of the buisness!

There is large scope to introduce food to go type seervice which I am currently looking into also id like to introduce things like cash machine, etop ups and such things to bring more customers into the shopThe problem was the fuel as I have asked esso shell and bp by email but all they do is direct you to their respective websites ont offer as much insite into the fuel supply (deposits, bonds etc) thankfully the current owner has indicated that hed be willing to help me with a fuel deposit in terms of a 3 year interest free loan, so alll is looking good.

Im also toying to introduce opthalmic and pharmacy services in the rear store (Ive friends in those fields who would be willing to applications in and run them with me) as there are none in the area except at the tesco, but my main worry was the fuel but hopefully thtas sorted now, will keep you posted, thanks again for everybodys help

 

[cybercynic]

Yeah I would open a car wash if the property wasnt so expensive, as it is the actual buisness until it closed was very profitable there was a very high turnover for it being a single forecourt, there is room for expansion aswell which is why its still in my view an excellent proposition, the only thing is I have put in everything I have to buy the buisness, I wouldnt have much left if any, to put towards a fuel deposit

A car wash is an expected service on any filling station of decent volume, as are vacuum and air lines. I've just left the business myself after fifteen years. Best way to make money in this game...................move to a country who don't use you as an unpaid tax collector

 

[chanduck]

Hi ,

Hope you have successfully acquired business,am also planning to buy a petrol station , wondering if you can post your experience.

thanks
shaker

 

[Naughty Vend]

As a previous operator of a petrol site...

You'll find that the refinery will not want to deal with you until you prove you have sales, big time is over a million metric litres and actually below that some of the big boys will just not be interested so go with someone more hungry like Jet or Q8. Not too crappy a brand because consumers are savvy and think cheap fuel is bad fuel.

There's a host of regulations, environmental is a pain in the ass and your tanks will need inspected before use, allow for the shrinkage / evaporation and always get your fuel delivered at night when it's colder... think about that one because you only make a few pennies per litre. Which then returns you to "risk" because one drive-off will cost you, think of it like this... a drive off will not take a tenner they will take a full tank (at least - not including cans and oil drums in the back seats) which is say fifty litres @ £1.04 per, that's nett cost of fifty quid which at £0.04 per liltre profit is one thousand two hundred and fifty litres of sales from paying customers just to break even / recover from. Still want to get into this business...? The solution is pay at the pump only with chip + PIN or the new near field readers, problem with that is the customers don't come into the shop which is where you profit is really made...

If it were me, whilst I don't know enough to make a proper decision but knowing from your post that a shop is needed... fill the tanks up with concrete and rip the place down. Build flats with a shop or two in them and plenty of parking, lease the shops...

 

[cybercynic]

As a previous operator of a petrol site...

You'll find that the refinery will not want to deal with you until you prove you have sales, big time is over a million metric litres and actually below that some of the big boys will just not be interested so go with someone more hungry like Jet or Q8. Not too crappy a brand because consumers are savvy and think cheap fuel is bad fuel.

There's a host of regulations, environmental is a pain in the ass and your tanks will need inspected before use, allow for the shrinkage / evaporation and always get your fuel delivered at night when it's colder... think about that one because you only make a few pennies per litre. Which then returns you to "risk" because one drive-off will cost you, think of it like this... a drive off will not take a tenner they will take a full tank (at least - not including cans and oil drums in the back seats) which is say fifty litres @ £1.04 per, that's nett cost of fifty quid which at £0.04 per liltre profit is one thousand two hundred and fifty litres of sales from paying customers just to break even / recover from. Still want to get into this business...? The solution is pay at the pump only with chip + PIN or the new near field readers, problem with that is the customers don't come into the shop which is where you profit is really made...

If it were me, whilst I don't know enough to make a proper decision but knowing from your post that a shop is needed... fill the tanks up with concrete and rip the place down. Build flats with a shop or two in them and plenty of parking, lease the shops...

I concur entirely. look out for small white vans with drivers in dayglow vests filling up with open rear doors, 100 litres!!!!!!!!!
Then there's the minimum wage cashier who works extra shifts to maximize his income on dodgy credit cards

 

[carrera15]

Hi ,

Hope you have successfully acquired business,am also planning to buy a petrol station , wondering if you can post your experience.

thanks
shaker

Hi im just getting my funding toghether but all things equal should be ready to takerover in the near future.

The main issues with buying it was actually trying to get the fuel supply sorted. Most of the larger suppliers are looking for a site that can sell 2800 kls per year upwards, and are looking for a sizeable lump sump upfront either in the form a bank guarantee or cash deposited into an account, luckily that im buying from will put this down for me. After that youve got you're shop to stock, get a pos system and also repair the forecourt to THEIR standard and essentially thats you ready to rumble.

As ive got no experience in the petrol buisness I will be getting a rep from the fuel supplier to work with me for around a week to help me through.

As my background is in retail, i am looking at the bottom line in terms of sales. Fuel itself you dont make much on, around 3p per litre in my case, but other things like car wash, paypal, lottery and your shop is where you will make your money. The way I see it if the income from fuel alone can cover your costs for mortgage on the place and you feel you can make enoother things i would look at it, in my opinion.

At the end of the day it all comes down to bottom line figures are you able to make enough over the course of a year to cover everything AND make a living?

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Sorry, haven't read all previous posts in detail. But important question, have you checked with Trading Standards regarding the condition and compliance of the tanks and pumps. Costs associated with updating and replacing these are HUGE, and you tend to find that that petrol stations come on the market just before they need major capital upgrades.

 

[carrera15]

Sorry, haven't read all previous posts in detail. But important question, have you checked with Trading Standards regarding the condition and compliance of the tanks and pumps. Costs associated with updating and replacing these are HUGE, and you tend to find that that petrol stations come on the market just before they need major capital upgrades.

Hi

Yeah I been talking to the esso rep for my area and hes everything, the only thing that really needs done is changing the lights and painting the canopy. Basically the company that leased the site before just spent around 30K on the place, for shop fit out and refurbishment, so all is good on that front.

 

[papverpoppies]

Hi, thanks for your help.

The actual station has a large shop which I plan to run, there is also a large lock up at the rear of the forecourt and from what I have seen there is a la of both passing cars and pedestrians. The shop is the main shop in the area and the nearest is a tesco around 2 miles from it, so im really not looking for much revenue from the petrol side of the buisness!

There is large scope to introduce food to go type seervice which I am currently looking into also id like to introduce things like cash machine, etop ups and such things to bring more customers into the shopThe problem was the fuel as I have asked esso shell and bp by email but all they do is direct you to their respective websites ont offer as much insite into the fuel supply (deposits, bonds etc) thankfully the current owner has indicated that hed be willing to help me with a fuel deposit in terms of a 3 year interest free loan, so alll is looking good.

Im also toying to introduce opthalmic and pharmacy services in the rear store (Ive friends in those fields who would be willing to applications in and run them with me) as there are none in the area except at the tesco, but my main worry was the fuel but hopefully thtas sorted now, will keep you posted, thanks again for everybodys help

With 600 petrol station a year going out of business (and with so little profit on each litre sold) why would you want to buy a petrol station.

You already say that your profits will be from the other things you plan to sell and develop on site, so why not just buy a store?

There was a post on this board 3 days ago, and most people who replied said it was a NO goer, especially for a small independent set up - owing to the supermarkets, and the bigger companies.

If this place had to close down, I imagine it closed down for a reason, no one closes down a good profit making business - they surely sell it as a going concern.

Poppy

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Hi

Yeah I been talking to the esso rep for my area and hes everything, the only thing that really needs done is changing the lights and painting the canopy. Basically the company that leased the site before just spent around 30K on the place, for shop fit out and refurbishment, so all is good on that front.

That isn't what you need to worry about, what you need to worried about is buried underground, and the one person that will have a full copy of the spec and standards of what's under all that concrete is Trading Standards. Don't trust the fuel reps, they're just selling fuel, they're not going to tell you that what you have is substandard and requires replacing in 2 years. And don't trust the seller.

Talk to trading standards. And get a copy of all recent inspection reports.

 

[papverpoppies]

The actual station has a large shop which I plan to run, there is also a large lock up at the rear of the forecourt and from what I have seen there is a la of both passing cars and pedestrians. The shop is the main shop in the area and the nearest is a tesco around 2 miles from it, so im really not looking for much revenue from the petrol side of the buisness!

Have you actually understood what you have written here?

Why are you buying this business - when in your own words, you are not looking for that side of the business to bring in much revenue.

It is going to cost you a fortune, and sure the fuel reps etc etc will help you, and help with the finance in so much as filling up the tanks (why would they not)? after all, its you that has got to pay for it all, irrespective of whether you sell the fuel or not.

Personally from the questions you have asked - I would say you need to be careful, or else all that money you are borrowing will soon be gone.

Have you actually secured a business loan based on a 'business plan' or are you obtaining loans?

There are folks out there, who will tell you, whatever they know, you want to hear!

Make sure you do not fall into their trap.

Poppy

 

[carrera15]

Have you actually understood what you have written here?

Why are you buying this business - when in your own words, you are not looking for that side of the business to bring in much revenue.

It is going to cost you a fortune, and sure the fuel reps etc etc will help you, and help with the finance in so much as filling up the tanks (why would they not)? after all, its you that has got to pay for it all, irrespective of whether you sell the fuel or not.

Personally from the questions you have asked - I would say you need to be careful, or else all that money you are borrowing will soon be gone.

Have you actually secured a business loan based on a 'business plan' or are you obtaining loans?

There are folks out there, who will tell you, whatever they know, you want to hear!

Make sure you do not fall into their trap.

Poppy

Hi Poppy

What i actually meant was the money I make from the fuel will basically cover all my costs, so therefore I wont be making much(ie in my pocket) from the fuel, the shop side of it is were I will be making my money.

I kinda know what youre saying, ie it may not be worth it, but with all due respect, you dont know the area and you dont know the kind of figures we are talking about.

The reason the last person went bust was simple, at the time when fuel prices were at around 129p per litre he had bought fuel (his company owned multiple forecourts) a vast amount of wet stock at what was at the time a good price, belived to be around 125p, when the prices went back down to pound levels he ineffect lost a quarter of his buisness, the fuel company called in his bonds and he went belly up!

Yeah I know that there are so many petrol stations that go out of buisness, but this site is on the main road in and out of the area, and is in the centre of the main retail area of this place.

 

[gillyfleur]

Do you know how much fuel the site was selling p.a. previously ?
You need to work on 3 - 4 pence per litre margin
Shop will do 10 - 11 % margin on cigarettes, maybe 30% on the rest of the shop sales overall - depends if you intend to premium price.
Oil company will want a minimum bond of £40K but that doesn't have to be cash, it can be a bank guarantee, but will depend on volume.
The best you can expect is 3 working days credit on fuel - timing of a delivery is therefore crucial to get the maximum credit - Thursday night or Friday morning delivery may not leave your bank until Wednesday and evening deliveries might be better as it's cooler but then it depends on the terminal the fuel leaves from - i can't remember what the stats on the Scottish terminal were like (it's been a while since I was involved in the industry to that extent), 14 days credit from a stock supplier such as Palmer & Harvey.
Are you going to trade 16 hours or 24 hours a day ? will affect staffing costs - 24 hours a day = 168 hours per week @ £5.80 per hour = £974.40 + Eers Ni, plus a cleaner 20 hours per week (unless you do it yourself), plus a shelf stacker @ 20 hours per week plus if it's busy you might need to double man in busy times
You mention an Esso TM. Are you going to stick with Esso for fuel supply ? A good move if you are. An Esso, BP or Shell pole sign can add 15 - 20% to your volume.
Also Esso will charge you seperately for your fuel card transactions and you'll get your card money in 3 days (whereas some of the others take 21 days to give you your charge card money back) so you know what you're paying and you'll get a better margin on your fuel so can price more competitively. Try to avoid Texaco - too expensive as they pay your so your pole sign price will always have to be dearer so customers won't be so keen
What else can I tell you ? Just to qualify my comments I currently have 8 petrol station clients and spent 15 years working in the industry on the site accounting side of things so I do know a bit about it. I've done business plans for 2 of my clients to get bank funding to do exactly what you're doing (and one was an ex Esso site. So far he's spent approaching £700K but it's valued as a trading business at approx £1.3 million now - but he's doing 4 million litres and making about £3K per month because of his finance costs so don't expect to get rich quick. His will come when he's managed to re-finance a better bank deal and his equipment leasing is paid)

 

[carrera15]

gillyfluer

The fuel sales were 3.5M per annum with 25K a week shop sales and also 63k a year car wash sales.

Hi ive got a contract with esso waiting to be signed, ill be living on site as there is a flat above so I will be working at least 15 hours a day (been doing that for the past 9 years as it is). Stock wise, a very close friend of mine owns and runs one of the main cash and carries in glasgow so thats sorted aswell, youve just confirmed what I was led to believe. The only difference is that this site has all new terminals and all the fixtures and fittings are owned outright by the owner including fuel pumps, the only thing that isnt is the car wash machines, but they for themselves.

Im currently trying to get finance at good rate but I have been quoted at 3.5% at best and 12.9% worst case. If it means me not making much for the first year or two, until I get a better rate of finance I am prepared to do that.

 

[willitbe]

gillyfluer

The fuel sales were 3.5M per annum with 25K a week shop sales and also 63k a year car wash sales.

Hi ive got a contract with esso waiting to be signed, ill be living on site as there is a flat above so I will be working at least 15 hours a day (been doing that for the past 9 years as it is). Stock wise, a very close friend of mine owns and runs one of the main cash and carries in glasgow so thats sorted aswell, youve just confirmed what I was led to believe. The only difference is that this site has all new terminals and all the fixtures and fittings are owned outright by the owner including fuel pumps, the only thing that isnt is the car wash machines, but they for themselves.

Im currently trying to get finance at good rate but I have been quoted at 3.5% at best and 12.9% worst case. If it means me not making much for the first year or two, until I get a better rate of finance I am prepared to do that.

Living at a Petrol Station:|:|:|.

Really?. I would have thought that was a no-no.

I have honestly never seen a petrol station with living quarters!

 

[gillyfleur]

If you've got 3.5m litre sales, 25K shop sales and £63K car wash - assuming all your trade comes back - then you'll hopefully be fine - more than fine. My client was doing 4.5 mill litres when the site closed 3 years ago but he's taking time for it to come back now although it's definitely heading in the right direction. His shop sales are a quarter of yours and he has no car wash yet and he's still making 3K per week. I have a contact who specialises in raising finance for petrol stations and he might be able to help you. I can let you have his name and number in a pm if your interested in speaking to him - but he's based in Birmingham.

Will you have facility for Key Fuels ? commission's not great but the lorry drivers will use the shop so it adds to your shop sales and you can aid your cash flow by utilising their underground fuel stock to sell as your own and reduce the number of derv deliveries you need to fund on a short term basis

Also, I thought I read you needed a new POS ? I know a guy who supplies his own system but it's based on Gilbarco which is the Esso standard. I won't say much about it on an open forum but a client of mine bought it and it's identical - and half the price. Let me know if you want his details. You can link Gilbarco POS to Sage in the back office so you get a fairly well integrated accounting system - but it needs to be set up properly in the beginning. Otherwise the industry standard seems to be Torex also linked to Sage

Good luck. All sounds very exciting

 

[gillyfleur]

Sorry, that should read £3K per month profit not per week. Not a fortune I know but it will come as time goes on and he now has a valuable asset for his pension

 

[carrera15]

The site already has a pos system in place, the leasee left everything there, plus fully refurbished the shop and all fitting and fixtures are new, ie its in walk in condition so fingers crossed

 

[RMR]

Hi Gillyfleur

Just wondering how your getting on with your Petrol Station, have been reading reguarly to see if you have updated!

I'm in the same position as you trying to take over a Petrol Station in Glasgow!

Hope everything is going well.

RMR

 

[RMR]

Sorry!!

Meant to say carrera15

RMR

 

[carrera15]

Hi RMR

Yeah its going along...slowly

Was having problems with getting finance from the banks so had to go through mortgage brokers, not cheap I can tell you.

But i should have the funding in place soon fingers crossed.

Hows your purchase going, good I hope.

Are you finding it dragging like me?

 

[stugster]

Glad to see our banks helping small businesses like they promised! </sarcasm>

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Don't take it forgranted that you'll get the money, even when you've got an agreement.

I had a bank pull out at the 48th hour because of the petrol tanks issues. (despite the application agreed being a commercial mortgage for the purpose of a petrol station).

 

[gillyfleur]

Hi RMR

Yeah its going along...slowly

Was having problems with getting finance from the banks so had to go through mortgage brokers, not cheap I can tell you.

It makes no odds if you go through a bank or a mortgage broker you would till have to pay a loan arrangement fee of at least 3% - and I did warn you of this in the PM I sent to you. The guy I sent you the details for gets paid by the bank out of the 3%. I understand others would charge you in addition. The bank aren't going to give you anything for nothing. You pay an arrangement fee if you have a £1000 overdraft facility let alone borrow half a million pounds. You have to build this additional cost into your cash/profit projections

 

[papverpoppies]

Hi RMR

Yeah its going along...slowly

Was having problems with getting finance from the banks so had to go through mortgage brokers, not cheap I can tell you.

But i should have the funding in place soon fingers crossed.

Hows your purchase going, good I hope.

Are you finding it dragging like me?

I went through a mortagae broker, and I found them worth their weight in gold.

They took away all the hassle, and arranged everything - they found for me a super deal - which I would have struggled to find.

You employs them - you pays their wages/fee - how else do they make a living for the services they have provided.

Do your homework and find a good one.

Poppy

 

[carrera15]

I went through a broker aswell.
But as my case was slightly more complex I had to in effect get 2 mortgages one for 30% secured against my family buisness and teh rest against the petrol station
I got a quote from one for 12.9% over base! Then another got me one at 8%, the problem being that the lender is charging me 2% and the broker is charging me 1% in addition to their fee, this was the best I could hope for so ive reluctantly taken this one.

I then contacted another broker firm, one of teh larger ones to handle the main body of finance, after meeting up with their men, he explained that typically the lender charges a percentage (2% in this case) that is given to the 'introducer' ie the broker, and the broker should only be charging a fee as he is already getting paid from the lender, plus whatever valuation costs, needless to say I wasnt to happy, and neither was the other broker, he did say this was typical with cases of adverse credit so I couldnt really complain.

Did you find that you did you find that you had to pay both the lender and broker if so did you have adverse credit?

 

[papverpoppies]

The building society fees were factored into the loan spread out over the duration of the mortgage.

The broker fees, came straight out of the loan/mortgage before it was paid into my bank.

I found brokers varied enormously (as did the building societys).

It was mind boggling at the start, as they all give you such different info.

You, just have to work out what is best for you and work from that angle.

Good Luck

Poppy

 

[layer_cake]

Hi guys, been following this thread for some time now.

Wouldn't it have been less hassle and cheaper just to get a few stations off shell or BP? i.e run as self employed ?

 

[cybercynic]

BP killed the franchise model years ago . Unless you fancy donating loads of money to their "Connect" setup in which you more or less pay six figures to do as you are told.
They tend to sell of their lesser sites in batches to organisations such as Malthurst these days anyway
Check out what happened to Calanike Ltd. And Kenny had years of experience

 

[gillyfleur]

Hi guys, been following this thread for some time now.

Wouldn't it have been less hassle and cheaper just to get a few stations off shell or BP? i.e run as self employed ?

Shell will let you run 10 sites for them on a self employed basis - if you have about 200k spare to use for bonds and stock - and they'll let you earn £10k per site
Malthurst will let you run one of their sites - but then make you pay for everything and you'll end up paying them rather than making a profit

BP you can pay £200k for a franchise

Total have pulled out of the market and sold all their sites to Shell

Esso only have employed managers these days

The only way to make money out of petrol these days is to have £1mill spare to buy a site outright, sell 4.5mill litres of fuel and £20k per week in shop goods

 

[cybercynic]

Shell will let you run 10 sites for them on a self employed basis - if you have about 200k spare to use for bonds and stock - and they'll let you earn £10k per site
Malthurst will let you run one of their sites - but then make you pay for everything and you'll end up paying them rather than making a profit

BP you can pay £200k for a franchise

Total have pulled out of the market and sold all their sites to Shell

Esso only have employed managers these days

The only way to make money out of petrol these days is to have £1mill spare to buy a site outright, sell 4.5mill litres of fuel and £20k per week in shop goods

Absolutely! And there are many better ways to invest said spare million that produce better returns with far less risk and a damn sight less government involvment

 

[amac]

Absolutely! And there are many better ways to invest said spare million that produce better returns with far less risk and a damn sight less government involvment

Agree - petrol stations appear to be struggling these days. I think the obvious reason is that supermarkets entered the business - and our consumer habits have evolved to incorporate fuel buying at the time of grocery buying.

 

[cybercynic]

Agree - petrol stations appear to be struggling these days. I think the obvious reason is that supermarkets entered the business - and our consumer habits have evolved to incorporate fuel buying at the time of grocery buying.

Not to mention the greed of the oil companies. When Sainsburys sell BP petrol and diesel 3 ppl cheaper than BP company owned sites one tends to become somewhat cynical about the whole business.BP wholesale effectively killing BP retail???????????
Mind you supermarkets opening 24/7 did rather drive a stake through the heart of the "convenience" concept as well

 

[funkykitsch]

Im looking for some advice. I have seen a petrol station forecourt that looking to buy.

Does anybody know whats involved?

The petrol station in question was run(badly) up until recently when it closed down.

The owner had leased it outand now has put it up for sale.

How does the supply of fuel work?
Ive heard that you have to put down a deposit for fuel, is this true?

Thanks in advance for any and all help

I would of thought you have to pay for all the fuel in one go and the margins are really small - basically you're out to make money from the shop not the fuel.
You should probably write yourself a petrol station business plan . By doing that you will understand the business better and you are more likely to make a good go at it.