“Lehigh Gas Partners looks forward to working with 7-Eleven and is confident customers will benefit from the rebranding of these locations,” says Lehigh Gas Partners CEO.
7-Eleven Inc. is rebranding convenience stores in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties in Ohio as part of a 19-store lease from Lehigh Gas Partners LP, based in Allentown, Pa.
Lehigh Gas Partners will retain ownership of the 19 sites and will continue to provide wholesale distribution of motor fuels to each site. The effective date of the leases will vary, but all leases are expected to be in place by March 31, 2013.
The fuel will continue to be sold under the BP brand. 7-Eleven will rebrand the stores as 7-Eleven stores and will manage the convenience-store operations.
The retail fuel business at the 15 stores in Cuyahoga County and four in Lorain County will continue to be owned and operated by Lehigh Gas—Ohio LLC, an entity managed by Joe Topper, chairman and CEO of Lehigh Gas Partners.
“As the world leader in convenience retailing, 7-Eleven is a strong credit-rated tenant with a substantial balance sheet and a well-known global brand,” Topper said. “Lehigh Gas Partners looks forward to working with 7-Eleven and is confident customers will benefit from the rebranding of these locations.”
Lehigh Gas Partners owns and leases sites located in nine states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Maine.