Buying an existing cafe
- Thread starter Brandon3002
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Bit late to the party here and fair play OP it seems like you're not being clouded by a dream and actually are being realistic. There's a simple answer to any kind of business like this, cafe's seem to be the most common one for it though - just ask yourself, "how much would it cost me to buy all that equipment second hand, and put a sign up on a vacant unit down the road and open for business". And I guarantee it will be nowhere near £55k. Without even seeing the cafe, maybe £6k - £10k at best.
So the next argument usually is "yes but it's got a loyal customer base, already turning over £xxx". So ask yourself, with that £45k that you've saved already, how much would it cost you to market the place and convert those loyal customers to you? Marching up and down the street with free coffees, dropping some vouchers for a free breakfast barms or "free cake with any sandwich" in local businesses, or running multiple prize draws and giveaways on facebook or whatever else it might take....I can guarantee none of them would cost £45k! Let's say you were generous and allocated £10k to that.
What are they offering you for the other £35k? Nothing...people are deluded in this world, when we first opened our bakers/sandwich shop and were looking to expand quite early on we were approached by various people and their valuations were in cloud cuckoo land.
Besides, she'll struggle to find anybody even remotely interested right now due to the economic climate. Our place failed, largely as a result of Covid although not entirely. I weighed up all of our equipment that we had and estimated we could possibly get between £3k and £7k for the lot depending how fortunate we were and if we could sell some "rare" equipment that not everybody would use. Plus I would have to transport it and store it. So I offered the whole place as a business ready to open - and I mean LITERALLY. There were bread and buns in the freezer, sandwich fillings in the fridge, bacon and sausage ready to cook, every single piece of equipment and supplies down to knives and forks and polystyrene trays. We closed it one day and someone could have come in the next and re-opened it. I listed it at £5k as an almost "business in a box" to get rid of the lot and couldn't even shift it at that.
So the next argument usually is "yes but it's got a loyal customer base, already turning over £xxx". So ask yourself, with that £45k that you've saved already, how much would it cost you to market the place and convert those loyal customers to you? Marching up and down the street with free coffees, dropping some vouchers for a free breakfast barms or "free cake with any sandwich" in local businesses, or running multiple prize draws and giveaways on facebook or whatever else it might take....I can guarantee none of them would cost £45k! Let's say you were generous and allocated £10k to that.
What are they offering you for the other £35k? Nothing...people are deluded in this world, when we first opened our bakers/sandwich shop and were looking to expand quite early on we were approached by various people and their valuations were in cloud cuckoo land.
Besides, she'll struggle to find anybody even remotely interested right now due to the economic climate. Our place failed, largely as a result of Covid although not entirely. I weighed up all of our equipment that we had and estimated we could possibly get between £3k and £7k for the lot depending how fortunate we were and if we could sell some "rare" equipment that not everybody would use. Plus I would have to transport it and store it. So I offered the whole place as a business ready to open - and I mean LITERALLY. There were bread and buns in the freezer, sandwich fillings in the fridge, bacon and sausage ready to cook, every single piece of equipment and supplies down to knives and forks and polystyrene trays. We closed it one day and someone could have come in the next and re-opened it. I listed it at £5k as an almost "business in a box" to get rid of the lot and couldn't even shift it at that.
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Remember this thread:
www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk
How to get customers?
Hi everyone. Long shot but I am hoping to get some advice hopefully from people who have been in a similar situation. My family and I opened a restaurant in January 2022. We opened to much fan fare - busy everyday for the whole of January and February, sold out every weekend and many weekdays...
www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk
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Remember this thread:
How to get customers?
Hi everyone. Long shot but I am hoping to get some advice hopefully from people who have been in a similar situation. My family and I opened a restaurant in January 2022. We opened to much fan fare - busy everyday for the whole of January and February, sold out every weekend and many weekdays...
Oh yes, do I just.
The website is down now, shame.
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It’s closed it’s now:
Twiddy's Grub House
Award winning restaurant serving up bangin' good grub including breakfast, burgers and tacos.
twiddysgrubhouse.com
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Seems he has dropped the marshmallows and Nutella from the menu.It’s closed it’s now:
Twiddy's Grub House
Award winning restaurant serving up bangin' good grub including breakfast, burgers and tacos.
Upvote
0
I haven't read all the posts but £55k sounds too much for a cafe breaking even.
I would check to see if included within the costs is a salary they are taking which you would therefore get which gives you a return. Also, what profits can you make from this? I would assume the lease is not extended after it finishes in 4 years and see how much money you get back for what you are paying. The returns should warrant paying whatever price you choose to buy it for
Also, with a lease there are normally dilapidation clauses which means that you have to put the property back into its original condition if you leave which could be costly if you don't extend/renew the lease
I would check to see if included within the costs is a salary they are taking which you would therefore get which gives you a return. Also, what profits can you make from this? I would assume the lease is not extended after it finishes in 4 years and see how much money you get back for what you are paying. The returns should warrant paying whatever price you choose to buy it for
Also, with a lease there are normally dilapidation clauses which means that you have to put the property back into its original condition if you leave which could be costly if you don't extend/renew the lease
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0
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