The market for filling station property purchases has ramped up this year, with more investment transactions taking place in the first three quarters of 2025 than all of last year combined.
That’s according to a market analysis by Nick Bywater, a director at commercial property firm Christie & Co. Bywater says a combination of factors has led to increased demand, including reduced borrowing costs brought about by a repricing of investments across 2022 and 2023.
Investment transactions involve forecourt freeholds being purchased, while leaseholders continue to operate the sites, and Bywater says filling stations with five or even 10 years left on their leases are often deemed “acceptable medium to long-term” business opportunities, with “limited short-term risk”.
Back in September we reported that banks recently revised requirements for loans and mortgages issued against filling stations to be repaid by 2035 in-line with the ban on sales of new cars with internal combustion engines. This change was presumably brought about by financial institutions realising that while new models are set to be outlawed, the tens of millions of petrol and diesel cars on our roads won’t be evaporating overnight.
Bywater says the EV market is shaping forecourt sales in other ways, too, with the “slow adoption” of these vehicles, together with a “general increase in historically low fuel margins” playing into the hands of filling-station operators.
He adds that it’s not just businesses that are interested in the sector, with private investors increasingly recognising the high yields forecourts can bring compared to traditional savings.
Government crackdowns on illegal workers at hand car washes, meanwhile, have boosted filling-station valeting footfall, with Top 50 Indie Sharma Garages recently telling Forecourt Trader that its car-wash operations represent a seven-figure revenue stream across its dozen or so sites.
Other factors at play include shoppers shying away from larger supermarkets and making more frequent, smaller shops at convenience stores, together with a continued focus on forecourt diversification, with laundry facilities and parcel lockers becoming increasingly common sights.
The forecourt landscape is, Bywater says, characterised by “continued resilience”, with operators and investors alike enjoying “increased levels of confidence”, with this likely to grow as we head towards and into 2026.
