News Coverage CSP Daily News – Friday, March 23, 2007
BP ‘ampming’ Atlanta
Selling 83 sites for rebranding, as well as other assets
ATLANTA -- BP has put up for sale 83 sites in the Atlanta metro area to be reimaged or developed as ampm franchise stores with BP-branded
gas stations, as reported in a CSP Daily News Flash yesterday.
Franchising these Atlanta sites as ampm is in line with BP’s strategic plans to expand and grow the brand, it said, leveraging its ampm
franchising experience and market recognition in the western United States and internationally. The company has made similar moves recently
in Chicago, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
Of the 83 sites to be branded as ampm franchise stores with BP gasoline stations, 77 are existing BP-branded sites. These 77 sites include 46 sites
that will have franchise stores rebranded to ampm by BP; 23 sites that the buyers will initially operate under current BP branding and complete the
conversion and rebranding of the franchise store to ampm after closing; and 8 sites that will require complete redevelopment before opening the convenience
store with the ampm brand; closings for these sites will occur after buyers have obtained all necessary construction permits.
Also, BP is offering five vacant sites for construction by buyers of new ampm retail franchises with BP-branded stations. In addition to the ampm franchise
sites, BP is offering four BP-branded stations and 17 sites for other commercial use, including five as debranded stations. One of the BP-branded stations may
additionally be redeveloped for another commercial use.
“Our goal is to build and recruit a franchise network East of Rockies that complements our already distinctive BP brand,” Ben Amante, BP’s vice president of U.S.
franchising, said concerning all of these related sales. “We are offering franchise buyers the rare opportunity to purchase a franchise with real estate rights. We
also see an opportunity to reflect the diverse communities where we operate by appealing to minority business people looking to franchise in the community. We look
forward to building a strong network of franchisees to help us grow our business and deliver our products and services to more consumers.”
There are about 1,000 franchisee-owned or operated ampm franchise stores in the U.S. West. Internationally, there are approximately 2,000 ampm stores in Brazil,
Japan and Mexico. While similar, the eastern and western U.S. ampm franchise offers are distinct from one another and subject to separate franchise documentation.
“The BP brand is distinctive in the Atlanta metro area and the ampm brand is well-regarded,” said Hope Mineo, managing director of Chicago-based NRC Realty
Advisors LLC (NRC), which has been retained to coordinate and execute the sale for BP.
The BP sites are being sold through NRC’s sealed-bid sale process. NRC requests sealed bids by June 7, 2007. For bid submission guidelines and further information
regarding the BP sites please contact NRC at (800) 747-3342, extension 704, or by visiting www.nrc.com/704.
Prospective franchisees and BP dealers that are interested in submitting bids for Atlanta sites are required to attend a one-day complimentary seminar in
Atlanta on May 14 or May 15, 2007. Representatives from BP and NRC will host the seminar, which will provide information related to BP franchising and fuel supply
and the NRC sealed-bid process. Bidders are required to obtain a bid package for each site on which they plan to submit a bid. Bid packages are available as part of
property-specific packages (PSPs) that have been assembled for each site. Each PSP contains site-specific due diligence information, such as a title commitment, survey
and environmental information.
BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year to U.S. consumers through 13,000 retail outlets. It is the single, global brand formed by the combination
of the former British Petroleum, Amoco, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol.
Chiago-based NRC specializes in the sale of North American commercial real-estate property, with a concentration in the c-store and gas station industry. Clients have
included companies in a variety of industries, including petroleum (BP, Shell and Sunoco), c-stores (White Hen, BP Connect and ampm), financial institutions (GE Capital,
Bank One and Wachovia), retail (Kmart) and closely held distributorships and independent retailers.
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