Alimentation Couche-Tard puts 306 stores in North America up for sale

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is downsizing its portfolio in the United States, putting hundreds of Circle K stores on the selling block. 

The Canadian convenience store giant has retained real estate advisory firm NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC to coordinate the sale of 269 sites in the United States and 37 sites across six provinces in Canada. The average store size is approximately 2,600 sq. ft., with an average lot size of 29,500 sq. ft. Couche-Tard's store network includes 9,261 convenience stores in North America, with more than 7,100 in the U.S., primarily under the Circle K banner.

Of the 306 sites for sales, 122 are fee-owned and 184 are leased. And 238 of the properties sell fuel and 68 are convenience only. 

In addition, Couche-Tard reached an agreement to sell 49 locations in Oklahoma to Casey's General Stores Inc. for $39 million in an all-cash transaction. The transaction is expected to close by July 31, 2021. Casey’s operates more than 2,200 convenience stores in 16 states.

Last week, Couche-Tard said its third-quarter revenues dropped nearly 21% as fuel volumes plunged 20% in North America during COVID-19.

In a statement, Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Couche-Tard, said the decision to divest select stores fits within the company's “network optimization strategy” and follows a comprehensive and uniform network planning process that began in fall 2020. 

“Through this process, we have identified sites that no longer fit our strategic objectives, either from a brand perspective or from a regional scale perspective,” he said. “Concurrently, we have identified many opportunities to expand our footprint through new store builds and will continue to allocate capital to upgrade the size and scale of our locations, improve store layouts, and allow for the best utilization of our Fresh Food, Fast program as well as other initiatives which improve the customer journey."

Couche-Tard operates in 26 countries with more than 14,200 stores.