Press Releases

Monday, February 4, 2008

BP to sell 65 Chicago Area Sites as ampm Franchises

NAPERVILLE, IL - February 4, 2008 - BP's U.S. Convenience Retail unit announced today that 78 Chicago-area retail sites are for sale. Of the 78 sites, 65 are available for franchise, 3 are available as de-branded gasoline sites, 10 are available as BP dealer sites (with fuel agreements only) and 4 with multiple offerings including commercial use. The franchise sites will be re-imaged or developed as ampm franchise stores with BP-branded gasoline.

The offering is part of a plan announced by BP in November 2007 to sell its company-owned and operated retail sites to franchisees, dealers and jobbers and is in line with BP's strategic plans to expand and grow the ampm brand to reach more consumers with its products and services.

BP owns and operates about 700 company-owned and operated convenience stores, which will be sold over a two-year period.

"The ampm brand has a 30-year proven track record in some of the most competitive marketing areas in the U.S.," said Fiona MacLeod, president of BP U.S. Convenience Retail. Franchising under the ampm brand across the U.S. just makes sense."

Diversity and inclusion continues to be an important part of BP's franchising efforts. In 2006, BP began an initiative to recruit minority franchisees, and that work will continue. "As much as possible, we want ampm stores to be owned and operated by people who live in the communities we serve," said MacLeod.

BP has retained NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC (NRC) to coordinate the sale of the 78 sites. NRC will accept offers submitted by April 8, 2008. Those interested in submitting offers to become prospective franchisees and BP dealers are required to attend a complimentary seminar in Chicago. Representatives from BP and NRC will host the seminar, which will provide essential information related to BP franchising and fuel supply and the NRC offering process. Reservations and a completed Franchise Application are required for attendance. Please contact NRC at 800.747.3342, ext. 803, for details and to register. The Franchise Application is available for download at www.nrc.com/bp.

"The ampm franchise is very strong," Fiona MacLeod noted. "The ampm franchise was the only convenience store owned by an integrated oil and gas company to make Entrepreneur's 2008 ëFranchise 500,' where its West of Rockies operations ranked 35th, and the Franchise Times' Top 200, where its West of Rockies operations ranked 39th."

BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S. consumers through 13,000 retail outlets. All Amoco fuels are backed by a written guarantee. BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol. The ampmbrand was founded in 1978 in Southern California by ARCO. The brand became part of BP when it acquired ARCO in 2000. Additional information on BP's franchising opportunities is available at www.bpampmfranchising.com.    

NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC, specializes in the accelerated sale of North American commercial real estate property.  With a concentration in the convenience store industry, NRC provides divestiture, commercial and financial advisory real estate services.  Since 1989, it has sold more than 10,000 properties. In 2006 NRC sold properties in thirty-one states with aggregate purchase prices in excess of $300 million. Clients include globally-recognized companies in a variety of industries, including petroleum (BP, Shell, and Sunoco), convenience stores (White Hen, BP Connect, ampm), financial institutions (GE Capital, Bank One, and Wachovia), retail (Kmart), and closely-held distributorships and independent retailers.

BP Contact:
Valerie Corr
BP
630-821-3206
valerie.corr@bp.com