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McHenry, McHenry County

McHenry Gas Station for Sale

A gas station in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide gas stations playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

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McHenry market

Selling a gas station in McHenry

A gas station in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide gas stations playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file.

McHenry is a Fox River and Chain O’Lakes city in McHenry County — waterfront recreation plus a working downtown, not Crystal Lake’s larger commercial core.

Boating-season hospitality needs a winter story. Route density thins toward the Wisconsin line. Owner-operators from Crystal Lake and Wisconsin-border towns are more likely than Chicago PE. Seller financing is more common here than on the North Shore.

McHenry has about 26,992 residents in McHenry County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
2x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
4–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
McHenry County
Population
26,992
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
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McHenry County demand

Collar-county demand

DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.

There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.

McHenry demand for gas stations is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 26,992 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Gas Station in McHenry

What a McHenry buyer will underwrite on this gas station

A gas station in McHenry is bays or site plus environmental accounts. Dealer service departments and neighboring shops in Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock are the competition. Waste-oil, tanks, or refrigerant rules do not silently follow a stock sale.

Gas Stations statewide typically plan around 2x–4x SDE and a 4–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this McHenry shop. Buyers here usually argue fuel volume (gallons/month), c-store revenue, real estate ownership vs lease, environmental compliance status.

Closing clock for this McHenry file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Office of the State Fire Marshal underground-storage-tank rules and IEPA LUST status are the licenses that move the business. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the McHenry application of it.

In a suburb like McHenry, independent operators, fuel distributors, convenience store chains are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Buyer pool

Who buys a gas station in McHenry

Owner-operators and neighboring DuPage/Lake strategics. PE is selective — they want enough EBITDA to justify the drive from the city. Seller financing is more common than on the North Shore.

Illustration: a branded four-dispenser station with a C-store in Springfield, tanks last upgraded a decade ago, lottery and tobacco inside, and the seller working days. Not a closed sale.

A gas station whose customers already sit in Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock is a larger business than one that stops at the McHenry city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this McHenry gas station

Gas-station recasts split fuel cents-per-gallon from inside-store gross. Add back owner compensation, then treat fuel margin as a distributor conversation, not a growth story. Cigarette, lottery, and ATM income need their own lines. Environmental capex (tanks, spill buckets, Stage II leftovers) is a deduction from value, not an add-back.

Illustration only — not a quote for any McHenry shop. A gas station whose tax return shows $256,000 of net profit is not worth $256,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $110,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $21,000 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $12,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $35,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.

Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $380,000. At the planning range 2.0x–4.0x, enterprise value is $760,000 to $1,520,000. Mid-range 3.00x is $1,140,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A McHenry buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 3.00 times $380,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $1,140,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a McHenry gas station — not a quote
Net profit$256,000
Owner W-2$110,000
Benefits$21,000
One-time$16,000
Personal$12,500
Replacement labor (subtract)−$35,000
Recast SDE$380,000
Planning EV at 3.00x$1,140,000

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for gas stations. Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.

Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—

Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.

Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
Estimated Value Range — to —

This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.

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McHenry County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a McHenry sale

McHenry County uses state CBS-1 and municipal licenses in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, and Algonquin. Rural and village zoning can restrict contractor yards and outdoor storage. No Chicago/Cook 45-day local bulk sale.

Office of the State Fire Marshal underground-storage-tank rules and IEPA LUST status are the licenses that move the business. Motor-fuel tax accounts, lottery retailer status, and tobacco licenses do not silently assign. Municipal business and, if applicable, packaged-liquor licenses are local-control items. A tank-tightness or cathodic-protection gap is a deal issue, not a post-close punch list.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in McHenry

For a gas station in McHenry, the first labor question is: Documented inside-store margin that is not all cigarettes.

Route density drops north and west of Crystal Lake. Winter home-services volume is real; summer landscaping books need snow or other off-season work or buyers will haircut. Huntley and Algonquin lean toward Kane/Cook overflow.

Northwest exurb: growing rooftops, still a farm-and-lake county in the western townships. Do not assume Chicagoland PE interest on a two-truck shop.

Diligence

What a serious gas station buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Documented inside-store margin that is not all cigarettes; Clean UST and LUST file with useful remaining tank life; Assignable supply brand without a forced image rebuild; Owned dirt versus a short oil-company lease; Lottery and foodservice that survive an ownership change.

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the McHenry business: Monthly gallonage, brand contract, and fuel-margin history; UST age, tightness tests, spill-bucket file, and any LUST incident; Inside-store category mix: food, tobacco, lottery, ATM; Branded-supply agreement assignability and image-update obligations; Owned real estate versus oil-company or third-party lease; Environmental Phase I/II and remaining tank life.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a McHenry gas station buyer

Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.

SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.

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%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required —
Loan Amount —
Est. Monthly Payment —

This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.

Sale steps

How to prepare a McHenry gas station for sale

  1. Recast this McHenry gas station. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a McHenry buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this gas station pull a permit or see a patient in McHenry, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the McHenry trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the McHenry limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in McHenry County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois gas stations hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the McHenry file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
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Questions

Questions about gas stations in McHenry

Answers for owners and buyers in McHenry County, including local closing steps.

Service Area

Gas Station Brokerage Near McHenry

We serve gas stations owners and buyers across McHenry County and the surrounding region.

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