Buying a Convenience Store in Ontario

Verifying a convenience store's sales

Convenience store sales mix low-margin items (tobacco, lottery, transit or phone cards) with higher-margin ones (snacks, drinks, prepared food). Ask for sales by category, supplier purchase history, lottery commission statements and HST filings, and compare them: purchases should support the claimed sales.

Lottery, tobacco and alcohol authorizations

Each authorization sits with its own body and is usually tied to the operator, so none should be assumed to come with the store. Lottery retailing is contracted with the OLG; tobacco and vapour sales are regulated provincially and enforced locally; and beer, wine and ready-to-drink sales need an authorization from the AGCO.

Ask your lawyer to confirm how each one is dealt with on a change of ownership, and make the offer conditional where the store's income depends on it.

The convenience store lease and location

Check the lease's remaining term, renewal options, permitted use, any exclusive-use clause protecting the store in a plaza, and the landlord's consent to assignment. A store's traffic depends on its surroundings, so note nearby competitors, residential density and any planned road or transit work.

Financing convenience stores in Ontario

Buying a business usually means buying its assets and goodwill (an asset purchase) or buying the company that owns them (a share purchase). The structure changes what liabilities you inherit, how the price is taxed and what a lender will finance, so decide it with your lawyer and accountant before the offer.

Lenders will want the business's financial statements and tax returns, the lease or title, and your own experience in the industry. BDC lends to small and medium-sized Canadian businesses, and many banks lend under the federal Canada Small Business Financing Program for equipment, leasehold improvements and real property. A vendor take-back, where the seller finances part of the price, is also common in business sales. No lender approval, rate or term is guaranteed: talk to a commercial lender or mortgage professional before you make an offer.

Where to find convenience stores for sale

Summitly's category pages list the convenience stores on the MLS® system right now, city by city, with the live count and the newest listings. A page with too few live listings to be useful is kept out of search results until inventory returns.

• Convenience stores for sale in Toronto →
• Convenience stores for sale in Mississauga →
• Convenience stores for sale in Brampton →
• Convenience stores for sale in Hamilton →
• Convenience stores for sale in Ottawa →

How Coldwell Banker Summit Realty helps with convenience stores

Coldwell Banker Summit Realty, Brokerage is a RECO-registered Ontario brokerage with access to the Coldwell Banker Commercial program. A licensed REALTOR® can shortlist listings, request the financial package and documents the seller's side will release, structure an offer with the conditions this guide describes, and coordinate with your lawyer, accountant and lender.

This guide is general information for buyers in Ontario, not legal, tax, lending or environmental advice. Rules change and every deal is different: confirm each point with your lawyer, accountant, lender and the regulator named before you firm up an offer.

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