Cost of Shop Fittings and Fixtures?

[ttmw]

Could anyone give me a rough idea of how much i'd expect to pay to fit out a 500 sq ft retail space?

I know its a little vague as you don't know what i'm selling, but i'm only after slatwall type stands and a retail counter/desk for the till and stuff. No freezers, special glass cabinets or anything like that, just plain old stands for hanging up basic products (not clothing)

A rough price is all i'm after to get a vague idea for my costings before i go any further.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kulture]

Look at shopfitting warehouse http://www.shopfittingwarehouse.co.uk/

 

[ttmw]

Look at shopfitting warehouse http://www.shopfittingwarehouse.co.uk/

I tried doing some calculations last night adding up all the different bits from a fittings shop, but there's so many little bits to remember about i'm bound to be off by a lot i'd think.

Second hand fittings seem to be a possible good option too, especially in the current climate, i'm sure there's some good bargains to be had

Maybe it'd be better if i asked how much it cost you to fit out your own shop, what you have in the shop, and the size of the area you had to transform?

 

[thegascupboard]

Ours worked out about £8 per square foot, thats for wall space, slatwall with hooks. We got all ours from a warehouse in Wiltshire.

 

[Drpepper]

500sq ft unit - slatwall, 8 x Ikea units, 5 x shop fitters units, laminate floor, 2 x tills, sign writing (don't forget to include that!), incidentals (hooks, etc) £13,000 approx.

Talk to suppliers they will probably be able to supply you with display units for their products free of charge (example - I have 2 x Coca cola chillers worth about £3k on free loan).

 

[ttmw]

500sq ft unit - slatwall, 8 x Ikea units, 5 x shop fitters units, laminate floor, 2 x tills, sign writing (don't forget to include that!), incidentals (hooks, etc) £13,000 approx.

Talk to suppliers they will probably be able to supply you with display units for their products free of charge (example - I have 2 x Coca cola chillers worth about £3k on free loan).

Sheesh, that money's going to be hard to find if it comes to that much. Is there any possibilities to make it cheaper in any way do you think? I really don't want to get into lending money, and i'm not sure they'd lend it to me anyway...

Do shops always come completely empty, i'm guessing they do, but i'm hoping there's another option? lol

I think i could stretch to 3k for fittings and fixtures, maybe i should start looking for a smaller place than 500sq ft?

 

[Drpepper]

All depends what you can cut back on and we did use quality items, the floor (commercial grade laminate rather than what you would have at home) was about £3k - do you need new flooring?

Some shops will just be a shell, some you will want to gut out and start again, others may be pretty much ready to move into. Our first shop was easy, laminate floor down, white walls, just needed to add shelving, tills etc. When we moved we had to gut the place and start from scratch - did everything myself, apart from the flooring, to save cash, took about two weeks.

Also remember you will have your legal fee's off about £1,500, three months deposit and three months rent in advance (unless you can negotiate less).

 

[warnie]

Our second shop came in @ around 6k for materials and thats including building an Ice cream Hut in store, its about 800sqft. We got 90% of the materials from Stax trade centres which ment we could fit our second shop out to a higher standard than our 1st smaller shop for the same outlay. Labour was free as we did it ourselves over 3 weeks working non stop, fridges came from coke, tills from costco

 

[andrew.sanders]

Last year I closed my shoe shop (having just refitted it) and I still have a load of perspex floating shelves and brackets (I got them from shopfitting warehoues) an cost about 4k. If they may be of any use please make me an offer

 

[ttmw]

Well i'm more than happy, and in most cases capable of fitting things myself to a high standard but i have a feeling it's the smaller items and touches that will add to the price more than i originally thought.

I've been thinking a lot about flooring, laminate flooring does seem a nice option, but im not sure how slippy it is in the wet and how durable and long lasting it is in the wet either (for the cheaper non-commercial type).

At a stretch i could take out a loan, but i'd have to be 99% sure i was going to turn a profit, and with me not knowing much about B&M retail yet i don't know how easy it would be to make profit after my monthly costs (not including one-time startup costs).

I can survive on my online profits only if i'm only making a little amount each month, but making a loss would be a big problem for me to start.

I'm confident i could get my shop kitted out for about 3k if i found the right property, but at the same time i like to be sure, and don't want to be naive about it.

 

[arcon5]

There will also be a fee for the B&M franchise won't there?

I don't think 3k would go very far at all tbh! I spent about £1k for my shop and it looks like a DUY disaster. Luckily I sell primarily online so it was just somewhere to work from - but passing trade has been pretty good so having a refurb at the end of the month. Only another 1k as the main units have already been bought in. This is a canvas printing shop so I can avoid alot of expenses on units standard shops would have.

But tbh my advice would be do it as cheap as possible by all means, but if don't budget enough to create the face of your business your going to regret it!

 

[ttmw]

There will also be a fee for the B&M franchise won't there?

I don't think 3k would go very far at all tbh! I spent about £1k for my shop and it looks like a DUY disaster. Luckily I sell primarily online so it was just somewhere to work from - but passing trade has been pretty good so having a refurb at the end of the month. Only another 1k as the main units have already been bought in. This is a canvas printing shop so I can avoid alot of expenses on units standard shops would have.

But tbh my advice would be do it as cheap as possible by all means, but if don't budget enough to create the face of your business your going to regret it!

By B&M i mean bricks & mortar, nothing to do with the B&M bargains Retail store...unless i'm misunderstanding something.

Yeah i think i'd prefer to save money rather than try to open when everything's not perfect. The idea of me opening bricks and mortar also came about because i needed space for stock anyway, so thought i might as well have a shop there too.

How big is your premises?

 

[arcon5]

By B&M i mean bricks & mortar, nothing to do with the B&M bargains Retail store...unless i'm misunderstanding something.

Yeah i think i'd prefer to save money rather than try to open when everything's not perfect. The idea of me opening bricks and mortar also came about because i needed space for stock anyway, so thought i might as well have a shop there too.

How big is your premises?

:redface::redface:

Have been reading a few other posts by you and was very confused by you doing well online and what I believed to be opening a franchise on the side. All makes sense now.

:redface::redface:

My premises are very small. Circa 55 sq/m. Like you though more of a place to work from rather than struggling at home and decided may as well use it as a shop.

If you can find some cheap premises which would be suitable for working from and as retail premises that would be great. As long as you don't mess uo the display. You will have to spend all day every day in there so make it nice and very professional.

Depends what your after really. If its storage then 3k will go quite far with racks and shelving. If you wan a shop then thats gonna be eaten up in no time at all!!

 

[business.is.my.life]

Well i'm more than happy, and in most cases capable of fitting things myself to a high standard but i have a feeling it's the smaller items and touches that will add to the price more than i originally thought.

I've been thinking a lot about flooring, laminate flooring does seem a nice option, but im not sure how slippy it is in the wet and how durable and long lasting it is in the wet either (for the cheaper non-commercial type).

Just a thought...before you think about laminating the flooring of any retail unit you look to lease, check the state of the flooring - next week I am getting my first lease on a premesis which had the square carpet tiles (which were very worn and had to be changed).

We took up a couple of the tiles, which I suggest you check - as they were firmly glued to a wooden floor underneath. Laminate flooring isn't too expensive, but if you need it professionally fitted, or heaven forbid need the floor screeding then the costs will escalate.

If it is a council owned premesis, check if they will do the work - tell them you cannot afford to spend money on their premesis and push them to do it for you. I managed to get 1 year rent free, with a 2 and a half year break clause. I also managed to get them to re-do the walls, put new carpets in and various other jobs. They even painted both floors!!

My guess is they did this as I was persistantly telling them we may not be able to afford it, and councils NEED the shops to be filled. I also managed to lower the annual lease by £5,000 a year - still getting my first year period free. I only have to pay one months rent to get the keys! Whatever you do, ask and be persistant! As the saying goes, if you don't ask....

 

[ttmw]

Just a thought...before you think about laminating the flooring of any retail unit you look to lease, check the state of the flooring - next week I am getting my first lease on a premesis which had the square carpet tiles (which were very worn and had to be changed).

We took up a couple of the tiles, which I suggest you check - as they were firmly glued to a wooden floor underneath. Laminate flooring isn't too expensive, but if you need it professionally fitted, or heaven forbid need the floor screeding then the costs will escalate.

If it is a council owned premesis, check if they will do the work - tell them you cannot afford to spend money on their premesis and push them to do it for you. I managed to get 1 year rent free, with a 2 and a half year break clause. I also managed to get them to re-do the walls, put new carpets in and various other jobs. They even painted both floors!!

My guess is they did this as I was persistantly telling them we may not be able to afford it, and councils NEED the shops to be filled. I also managed to lower the annual lease by £5,000 a year - still getting my first year period free. I only have to pay one months rent to get the keys! Whatever you do, ask and be persistant! As the saying goes, if you don't ask....

Sounds like you should be making money negotiating ha. Did you have any previous experience owning a shop or anything to help them decide that you would be a good tenant and thus getting you a better deal?

At the moment i'm struggling to make the figures work for me. Monthly figures could work, but startup costs (mainly fittings and the lease deposit and legal fee's) are very high. If i could get one months rent as a deposit, and get legal fee's at least half of the £1000 someone quoted on here, i might be onto a winner.

I really want this to happen, but don't want to let my heart rule my head.

 

[IndiCafe]

I hate to be negative but the costs discussed so far don't seem high at all, and it does seem that if you're unsure about having enough funds at this point, and about the business being viable, then the risk of losing more than you currently realise is high. It would only take a few unexpected costs for the business to be choked by cashflow problems. That's not a happy place, and just shouldn't happen with a new business. Keep doing your financial workings and due diligence until you're confident you know that it will or won't work, then follow your head.

 

[ttmw]

I hate to be negative but the costs discussed so far don't seem high at all, and it does seem that if you're unsure about having enough funds at this point, and about the business being viable, then the risk of losing more than you currently realise is high. It would only take a few unexpected costs for the business to be choked by cashflow problems. That's not a happy place, and just shouldn't happen with a new business. Keep doing your financial workings and due diligence until you're confident you know that it will or won't work, then follow your head.

Well by the time i come to rent a place, i should have filled out my room to have all the stock i need for the shop so that'll be paid for but i'm allowing £1000 anyway for more. 3k for fittings, doing anything myself that i can, then £1000 fee's for sorting the property lease (can this be lowered?). 2k deposit? £1000 for sign writing, fake CCTV, bits n bobs etc. Then business rates...which i'm not sure if they are paid monthly, yearly or what?

Either way that gets to roughly £8k...Possible if i cut everywhere i can?

 

[Drpepper]

Well by the time i come to rent a place, i should have filled out my room to have all the stock i need for the shop so that'll be paid for but i'm allowing £1000 anyway for more. 3k for fittings, doing anything myself that i can, then £1000 fee's for sorting the property lease (can this be lowered?). 2k deposit? £1000 for sign writing, fake CCTV, bits n bobs etc. Then business rates...which i'm not sure if they are paid monthly, yearly or what?

Either way that gets to roughly £8k...Possible if i cut everywhere i can?

Business rates will be monthly and on 500 sq ft unit look around £300 a month mark (this is the cost of mine, but it will depend on so many factors - just ask the council). Fake CCTV about a fiver. DON'T skimp on the legals it could end up costing you so much more in the long run, £1,500 plus VAT is reasonable for a commercial solicitor but can vary depending on the complexity of the lease. Ask for a fixed price if you can.

 

[IndiCafe]

Consider planning for the following costs.
Wages
Employers NI
training
Insurance
Water and drainage
Elec/heating and lighting (does your unit have aircon?)
Telephone
Office supplies
Repairs and maintenance
Advertising and promotions
Travel
Accounting
Legal
Bank charges
Licenses

These are operating costs. You may not have them all but should establish for sure.
What about a till system? Flooring? Wall decor? Ceiling decor?
Are there any Environmental Health considerations requiring an inspection?

Just trying to help ensure you've covered all bases.

 

[ttmw]

Consider planning for the following costs.
Wages
Employers NI
training
Insurance
Water and drainage
Elec/heating and lighting (does your unit have aircon?)
Telephone
Office supplies
Repairs and maintenance
Advertising and promotions
Travel
Accounting
Legal
Bank charges
Licenses

These are operating costs. You may not have them all but should establish for sure.
What about a till system? Flooring? Wall decor? Ceiling decor?
Are there any Environmental Health considerations requiring an inspection?

Just trying to help ensure you've covered all bases.

Yep i've got all them on my plan already thanks. It's the starting up costs that are the main problem. It'd be a shame if the monthly costs were all sorted and worked but i failed to raise the startup funds. Do any government schemes offer any interest free loans for companies or anything like that that anyone knows of?

 

[thegascupboard]

If you know the postcode of the shop unit, just go to the VOA website for business rates. http://www.2010.voa.gov.uk/rli/

 

[IndiCafe]

Interest-free is a long shot, but perhaps preferential rates. Have a look here
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdot...429&r.l3=1074453326&r.s=tl&topicId=1081834708
For any kind of external funding...grants, loans, equity investors... you will need a credible business plan.

 

[ttmw]

Interest-free is a long shot, but perhaps preferential rates. Have a look here
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdot...429&r.l3=1074453326&r.s=tl&topicId=1081834708
For any kind of external funding...grants, loans, equity investors... you will need a credible business plan.

Busniess plan's not a problem. I'll be sorting that in the next few week simply because i think it'll help me and give me a better chance of succeeding. It's always good to have goals to try and achieve.

 

[business.is.my.life]

Sounds like you should be making money negotiating ha. Did you have any previous experience owning a shop or anything to help them decide that you would be a good tenant and thus getting you a better deal?

At the moment i'm struggling to make the figures work for me. Monthly figures could work, but startup costs (mainly fittings and the lease deposit and legal fee's) are very high. If i could get one months rent as a deposit, and get legal fee's at least half of the £1000 someone quoted on here, i might be onto a winner.

I really want this to happen, but don't want to let my heart rule my head.

No this is the first lease I'll be taking and first shop opening. It helped that there is no other similar store in the city centre - so the management team are very interested in our shop being there. Another thing which helped reduce my rent is keeping in contact with them. Someone said to me "be cheeky and ask for the lowest rent" - so I did, along with stating that I can't really afford to pay more.

What you have to remember is the more empty shops there are in your area - the better chance you'll have of getting cheap rent and/or a rent free period. They are still going to receive 18 months rent, have the shop filled for 2 and a half years which makes the area more appealing and therefore more consumers and further interest from other businesses looking for retail outlets.

I haven't taken any legal advice, I only passed the contract to several people to have checked. Make sure you at least get an early break clause of 18months - 2 years if possible so if things don't go well you can back out after this period.

 

[Drpepper]

I haven't taken any legal advice, I only passed the contract to several people to have checked. Make sure you at least get an early break clause of 18months - 2 years if possible so if things don't go well you can back out after this period.

Really? Get a solicitor now and quickly.

 

[ttmw]

Really? Get a solicitor now and quickly.

Uh ohhhhh! Mind me asking how much your legal fee's were Drpepper, and what i could expect. Are my figures about right legal fee's wise?

also, how long does it take to sort a lease normally. Months, weeks?

 

[Drpepper]

Uh ohhhhh! Mind me asking how much your legal fee's were Drpepper, and what i could expect. Are my figures about right legal fee's wise?

also, how long does it take to sort a lease normally. Months, weeks?

My fees both times were £1,500 plus VAT. Allow at least two to three months. What can you expect? Someone on your side being "sensible". It's all to easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all and think "oh, it'll be fine". Without a solicitor on you side, making changes, the lease WILL be 100% on the side of the Landlord. This could, and in a shopping centre probably will, include: the hours you open, how you display your window, who does you repairs, un-realistic service charges, what you do with you waste, how many employees you can take on, what you can sell, who supplies your services, the terms of those breaks (a real serious one that), the condition of the unit when you take over/leave it, the ability to sub-let, 1954 act, etc, etc.

Never, never, never sign a lease without a solicitor, it will almost certainly come back to bite you on the ass - in a big way too. Or at the very least provide you with no peace of mind when tweleve months into trading things 'aint looking so rosy!

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

I tend to disagree. If preparing a standard ish FRI lease and know the solicitor or have worked with him before, 2 weeks period should be enough.

 

[business.is.my.life]

My fees both times were £1,500 plus VAT. Allow at least two to three months. What can you expect? Someone on your side being "sensible". It's all to easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all and think "oh, it'll be fine". Without a solicitor on you side, making changes, the lease WILL be 100% on the side of the Landlord. This could, and in a shopping centre probably will, include: the hours you open, how you display your window, who does you repairs, un-realistic service charges, what you do with you waste, how many employees you can take on, what you can sell, who supplies your services, the terms of those breaks (a real serious one that), the condition of the unit when you take over/leave it, the ability to sub-let, 1954 act, etc, etc.

Never, never, never sign a lease without a solicitor, it will almost certainly come back to bite you on the ass - in a big way too. Or at the very least provide you with no peace of mind when tweleve months into trading things 'aint looking so rosy!

I didn't think it would be this necessary - the reason they did the work to the shop is due to me saying the contract states "has to be left fit for purpose etc" while I would be taking it in a state that wasn't fit for purpose.

I'm not allowed to sub-let the property, but I had originally thought this would mean sub-letting the upstairs etc...not if we ran out of money and let it to someone else (which obviously would stop us losing so much money if things were to go wrong). The issue I have is £1,500 is a great deal of money for what I can only imagine will be a few days work. +VAT that'll be £1,800.

Do you know anyone that has taken on a lease without legal advice? Which has lead to trouble? It is naive to take the lease without it, but there isn't anything stating I have to pay for any service charges, none saying I need to stick to any particular service for repairs etc. The break clause I am generally happy with. Am I making a big mistake?

 

[drj1910]

i have kited out a few shops for a lot of work but not a lot of money.
ebay, as much as we may frown upon it, is a fantastic place to get absolute bargains.

for example a few years ago i kitted out the clothing section of a motorbike shop with 12 1.5m top quality triumph slatwall stands, from a dealer changing to another franchise for £350, they still look like new today!

If you are handy enough, do it yourself, spend time having a good look at other shops and display units, they are usually very simple to replicate, but only attemp it if you are competent, otherwise, it could make or break your shop!

As for costings, be brave, there are enough empty units around these days for you to get a good deal, can you get 50% for 6 months, can you stage the rent payments, say 10k this year, 12 the next, 14 the year after and thereon? the last deal i had was on an industrial unit at £12k a year, i managed to secure £8k for 1st year reduced to 50% for first 3 months, 10k second year to 12k, sining for 5 years with 3 year break clause

 

[Drpepper]

I "has to be left fit for purpose etc" while I would be taking it in a state that wasn't fit for purpose.

but there isn't anything stating I have to pay for any service charges, none saying I need to stick to any particular service for repairs etc.

There is the problem, "fit for purpose" is basically open to what the Landlord considers "fit", if you have signed the lease already at least take some photo's of the state of the unit when you move in.

There is nothing saying you DON'T have to pay for service charges, or use their own service providers etc.

What about repairs, insurance, opening hours etc.

Take another look at the lease, impartially, and I'll bet that it's 100% in favour of the Landlord with no protection for yourself.

One simple example from my second lease - full insuring and repairing - this could lead to massive, unrestricted bills for repairs to the building - at the Landlord's whim. Now, thanks to solicitors (I would have been to naive to even think of this) my liability for the repairs are limited to £1,000 per repair.

 

[Drpepper]

I tend to disagree. If preparing a standard ish FRI lease and know the solicitor or have worked with him before, 2 weeks period should be enough.

Only if your solicitor isn't doing his job and just "signing off" the lease. I would be very worried about what had been missed if it was completed in just two weeks, searches etc generally take a week or more to come back.

 

[business.is.my.life]

Photo's have been taken of any damages that I feel still need to be addressed - everything is being recorded. Surely a contract which doesn't say I need to use certain services etc, means there is nothing needing me to adhere to this? It would be like buying a car and after being told "You can only buy petrol from Shell Garages" without it being in writing.

There is a lot in the contract that goes in their favour such as needing permission to even paint walls etc (which considering we are in a 5 year lease seems a little OTT). However I'm also pretty confident as it is council owned they will be quite willing to let us do what we want with the store. You are definitely right though, most of the time you should have a solicitor check the contract and make changes to benefit you - especially when it's a private business in my opinion.

I really hope I don't find this thread in 4 or 5 months time to tell you just how right you were. Should have my shop open in around 6 weeks so I'll be speaking with the 'landlord' fairly often up until then.

 

[Drpepper]

Surely a contract which doesn't say I need to use certain services etc, means there is nothing needing me to adhere to this?

There is a lot in the contract that goes in their favour such as needing permission to even paint walls etc

It's these two statements that could be contradicting each other, you need their permission, at this point they could/might insist on who does the work, particularly with a council who will have their own preferred contractors.

Also be aware of the notice required to take the break, it's generally six months, but the lease will generally imply it's three - what you have to do is effectively give three months notice that you are giving the three months notice. I know at least two people who only gave the three and found they were to late and locked in for another five years, if my solicitor hadn't told me this I would have be committed to another nine years on my first lease! It's this sort of advice that you would also get from a solicitor, which if you missed the notice period would be worth their fee fifty times over!

Anyway, good luck with opening and let us know how it goes.

 

[Christiane]

I took a shop last year and it cost me about £4k to fit and it's 150 sqft.

I used tables until I could find a suitable counter, and eventually found one on ebay for a third of the price.

Shopfitting supplies in Preston can help you work out what you need and cost it using second hand slatwall.

I also took a lease over a year ago and negotiated on every point and was amazed they didn't argue any of them. I got 3 months free rent.

 

[Udizine]

You should try to use Foxbarn, they supply B&Q, Morrisons, Pc World, Comet etc...

They have excellent customer service, I should know I work there lol

 

[Haryer]

Hi there,Does anybody, by any chance.. have any info/ pics or anything really about the old fish and chip shop in Wyndham Road.. I think it was still one in the 50s, 60s or 70s?Thanks