Any profitable business is a great investment.
Sandwich bars in the right location with a healthy turnover can fetch upwards of £50,000! Whether you’re selling up to retire or would like to move into a different industry, Hilton Smythe can help you sell your sandwich shop for the right price.
With the UK food service industry constantly expanding – set to be worth £56.3bn by 2019 – many entrepreneurs are looking for commercial food and drink opportunities. The market for restaurants, takeaways, cafes and sandwich shops is becoming very competitive so it’s a good idea to plan ahead if you’re hoping to sell.
If you want to make your sandwich shop sellable, and extract as much value from the business as possible, take a look at our professional tips.
Build your business to sell
Businesses that sell for the best price haven’t simply been put on the market in a couple of weeks. It can take years for businesses to prepare for sale and become attractive to buyers, so don’t leave anything until the last minute. Make sure your business is thriving and earning a good profit before putting it on the market. This also means steering clear of tax avoidance – you need to show more in the bottom line leading up to the sale, so be willing to pay more tax. You should also try and ensure the business becomes self-reliant, and that the team would be able to manage operations without you there.
Building a brand is also incredibly important for any business, as a well-respected brand can be considered an intangible asset.
Offer a unique menu
When a buyer considers investing in a food business, they may look for a USP – what brings customers in? If you have an exclusive recipe or an interesting sandwich on the menu which isn’t offered elsewhere in the area, this could be considered an asset to the business. Another USP could be the ability to warm up or toast sandwiches for customers if other sandwich bars only offer cold fillings, or a state of the art coffee machine.
Hire great staff
In the hospitality industry and the food and drink sector, a company’s best asset is often its staff. Friendly and efficient staff members keep customers coming back, and loyal customers increase your bottom line. If you have a good team in place before selling the sandwich shop, potential buyers will trust them to run the business effectively after the sale. If employees know the orders of the regular customers, and the new owner keeps the staff, the customer base shouldn’t be affected following the sale so this reduces risk.
If you’d like the help of a business broker to value and sell your sandwich shop get in touch with our team.
