Cumberland Farms has sold 17 of its stores in Rhode Island, including its last store in Cumberland, R.I., for $75 million to Realty Income, a California-based real estate investment firm, according to the Providence Journal. The company has also sold 14 stores in Massachusetts, with an additional eight in the state’s Hampshire County, said the Daily Hampshire Gazette, for a total of $108 million.
In March, Realty Income signed a deal with Cumberland Farms’ owner EG Group to buy up to 415 convenience store properties in the U.S., with transactions expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, which ended in May.
Of the 415 stores being bought in the $1.5-billion deal, 80% are expected to be Cumberland Farms. The deal includes 116 convenience stores in Massachusetts, 87 in New York and 74 in Florida, accounting for 277 of the estimated 415 to be sold, stated Realty Income in a previous press release.
“Our core investment philosophy is to partner with leading operators in industries that have demonstrated an ability to deliver favorable risk-adjusted returns over the long term,” Realty Income said in a press release, according to the Gazette. “We believe this portfolio includes brands that are among the most recognizable convenience store brands on the East Coast, and the convenience store industry has long been a well-performing staple in our real estate portfolio. We are pleased with the portfolio’s attractive real estate quality, store-level cash flow coverage and average property size.”
Founded in 2001 by the Issa Family, United Kingdom-based EG Group is a petrol forecourt retail convenience operator which has established partnerships with global brands. EG Group currently employs about 50,000 colleagues working in more than 6,200 sites across the U.K. and Ireland, Europe, U.S., and Australia.