Equitas Investments

What Equitas Investments does

Equitas Investments is a private commercial real estate investment firm founded in 1995 by Aaron Swerdlow and headquartered at 2321 Rosecrans Ave, El Segundo, California. The firm acquires and develops single-tenant retail properties across the United States under NN and NNN lease structures, with vertical specialization in convenience and gas stations (7-Eleven, Circle K), automotive supply (Autozone, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto), discount retail (Dollar Tree, Family Dollar), and quick-service restaurants (Starbucks, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Hardee's, and others). A dedicated sub-brand, Equitas Petroleum, focuses specifically on petroleum-related real estate, and an affiliated entity, Equitas Value Company, LLC, supports additional acquisition activity led by Partner Doug Payne.

The company operates as a high-volume buyer, targeting approximately 40 property acquisitions per year on an all-cash basis with quick closings, eliminating financing contingencies for sellers. Source data indicates the founder has been involved in roughly 300 property acquisitions and 30 ground-up retail developments over approximately 30 years, while VP of Acquisitions John McLaughlin has managed over $250 million in transactions since joining in 2015. The team is small (~12 people) and includes finance, transaction, and accounting functions plus an executive operations manager with prior treasury experience. No proprietary technology platform, productized software, or AI capabilities are described; operations are described as a traditional CRE investment firm.

The revenue model is rental income from a leased single-tenant retail portfolio held under NNN arrangements (tenants cover taxes, insurance, and maintenance), supplemented by capital gains on property sales and ground-up development profits. The go-to-market motion is direct, relationship-based outreach to property owners and brokers — Doug Payne leverages a prior seven-year commercial real estate brokerage career and a California broker license to source off-market deals nationwide, with testimonials spanning deals from $500,000 to over $3 million.

Name

Equitas Investments

Legal name

Equitas Investments LLC

Website

https://equitasinvestments.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Equitas Investments is a private commercial real estate firm that acquires and develops single-tenant retail properties nationwide under NNN leases, targeting convenience/gas, automotive supply, and quick-service food tenants with all-cash closings at ~40 properties per year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Investment

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Assets — Operating Platforms & Direct Investments (FSAAAKAL)

Keywords

• Single-tenant retail acquisition
• Commercial real estate investment
• NNN lease properties
• Triple net lease
• Vacant property development

Headquarters

HQ city

Hermosa Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Rental Income: Revenue generated from holding and leasing single tenant retail properties under NNN and NN lease arrangements. Tenants including 7-Eleven, Circle K, Dollar Tree, Starbucks, and quick service restaurants pay rent under triple net lease structures where tenants cover taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Equitas Investments is a commercial real estate investment firm that purchases single-tenant retail properties across the United States on an all-cash basis, with a focus on convenience/gas, automotive supply, and quick service restaurant tenants under NNN (triple net) and NN lease structures. The company acquires approximately 40 properties per year with quick closings, and also develops vacant land and buildings into retail projects, with the property portfolio leased to national tenants such as 7-Eleven, Circle K, Dollar Tree, Autozone, Starbucks, McDonald's, and others.

Product overview

Equitas Investments is a commercial real estate investment and development company operating as a high-volume buyer of single tenant retail properties across the entire United States. The company operates as a single unified investment platform focused on acquiring NN and NNN lease properties, with separate holdings in vacant land and building development. Their portfolio spans major retail chains (7-Eleven, Circle K, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Autozone, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto) and quick service restaurants (Starbucks, Arby's, Burger King, Wendy's, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and others), managed through their core property acquisition service and the Equitas Petroleum subsidiary division. The company purchases approximately 40 properties per year on an all-cash basis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Equitas Petroleum: A division of Equitas Investments focused on petroleum-related real estate.
• Equitas Value Company, LLC

Products and services

• Single-Tenant Retail Property Acquisition All-cash purchase of single-tenant NN and NNN retail properties nationwide, with a focus on convenience/gas, automotive supply, and quick service restaurant tenants such as 7-Eleven, Circle K, Dollar Tree, Starbucks, and McDonald's. Equitas acquires approximately 40 properties per year with quick closings, targeting property owners and brokers selling leased retail real estate.
• Vacant Property Development Purchase and ground-up development of vacant land and vacant single-tenant buildings into retail properties, with completed sample projects in Long Beach, Lakewood, Bellflower, Belmont Shore, Escondido, and Los Angeles, California. The service is targeted at landowners and developers seeking a buyer-developer for raw or vacant retail sites.
• Equitas Petroleum

Quantifiable outcome

• ~40 properties acquired annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GRS Title GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTitle services provider mentioned in testimonials. Michele Rogers at GRS Title Group handled closing services for transactions. Provides title processing and escrow closing services for property transactions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• W. P. Carey: Diversified net-lease REIT owning single-tenant commercial properties globally under NNN and NN leases. Operates the same fundamental business model as Equitas at much greater scale and across more property types.
• STORE Capital: Large net-lease real estate investor operating a private (now PE-owned) platform acquiring single-tenant commercial properties. Similar NNN economics and tenant-type focus, but at substantially greater scale and with institutional capital.
• Realty Income: The largest publicly traded net-lease REIT, acquiring single-tenant commercial properties (including convenience, QSR, and dollar stores) under long-duration NNN leases. Significantly larger and more diversified than Equitas but operates the same core buy-and-hold NNN model.

Direct peers

• Broadstone Net Lease: Public net-lease REIT with a diversified single-tenant portfolio including restaurant, retail, and convenience properties — same fundamental model as Equitas, with broader property-type exposure and public-market capital access.
• Spirit Realty Capital: Net-lease REIT focused on single-tenant operationally essential retail (now part of Realty Income). Directly comparable in asset class to Equitas, particularly its free-standing retail and convenience-store holdings.
• Necessity Retail Partners: Public net-lease retail REIT (formerly Global Net Lease) focused on necessity-based single-tenant retail. Comparable to Equitas's strategy of acquiring convenience and service-retail properties under long-term NNN leases.
• Agree Realty Corporation: Net-lease REIT focused on retail properties leased to credit tenants under NNN structures, with a portfolio that overlaps significantly with Equitas's convenience and QSR holdings. Operates the same buy-and-hold model with external capital.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust: Net-lease REIT focused on middle-market single-tenant properties leased to necessity-based retailers. Most comparable to Equitas in deal size and tenant profile (smaller-format retail/service tenants under NNN leases).
• NNN REIT (formerly National Retail Properties): Public REIT focused exclusively on single-tenant retail NNN properties — directly comparable to Equitas's portfolio strategy of convenience, auto-supply, and QSR properties under long-term NNN leases.
• Four Corners Property Trust: REIT focused on restaurant-franchise single-tenant NNN properties — directly comparable to Equitas's QSR-heavy holdings (Starbucks, McDonald's, Hardee's, etc.). Similar underlying asset profile and tenant base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equitas-value-company-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equitas Investments