REF: BS844K

TRADITIONAL BOOK SHOP LUDLOW SHROPSHIRE NOW ONLY £14,000 plus stock FOR A QUICK SALE

LOCATION This leasehold business is situated in a parade of shops,

in one of the main shopping and through roads in Ludlow

Shropshire,

Ludlow was built on the banks of the River Teme and

started with the construction of a Castle in 1086, parts of

which still remain. The town is now one of the largest

towns in South Shropshire with a population of around

10,500. In addition to this there are many surrounding

farms and small villages whose residents use the town for

shopping.

The town has retained its unique medieval street layout,

which features a large number of various individualistic

shops that are mainly independently owned, of which this

business is one. There is also market, which has been

held since the twelfth century and now operates four days

a week.

One of the main sources of income for the town is the tourist trade, who love the history, the street

layout and the 500 listed buildings, as well as the shops.

THE SHOP:

The retail area comprises two rooms one on each floor, connected by an open staircase, access is

through a glazed front door leading from a shared entrance porch. There is a small front facing

display window and a rear emergency exit on the ground floor and to the rear is a serve over

counter with an electric till, plus a small office area, with a computer and printer connected to the

wholesalers for ordering purposes. The counter has a front display rack and the books are stored

both here and on various display shelving and floor standing racks around the room.

The “dog leg” staircase has a landing used for displaying goods and a side aspect window. The

stairs lead to the top floor which has a door giving access to separate ladies and gent’s toilets,

which are shared with adjoining businesses. There are front and side aspect windows and one

corner has been made into an additional room that is used for storage and as a private office.

Jonathan Ward | Business Broker Tel: 0845 299 0158

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THE BUSINESS & ACCOUNTS:

The primary area of business is the sale of new books with around 9,000 titles available. The

business has been established for twenty years and is a member of a buying group which enjoys

generous discounts through T.H.E. wholesalers who deliver daily. This eliminates the need for

stocking large quantities of individual books. Two other wholesalers are also used.

The business has been trading with the same owner for over eighteen years, making it a sound

secure business. There was the expected slight drop in turnover during the last financial year in

line with the majority of retails businesses, but the percentage of gross profit increased slightly.

The accounts for year ending 6th July 2009 show a turnover of £75,699 with a gross profit of

£22,253, (29.5%), this would have returned a net profit of around £10,500 for the working owner.

In addition, the sales for the last six calendar months of 2009 were £3,700 higher than the

equivalent period in 2008, partly due to some recent additional business from Ludlow College

which should be ongoing. Therefore the business is now trading at a higher level than last year,

without any significant effort to improve the turnover.

A big feature of this business is its school sales; it already regularly supplies several local schools

and colleges with their educational books. In addition it benefits from the tourist trade by offering

a good selection of local and national maps and once tourists are in the shop, they appreciate the

many and varied books on offer. Most small town shops also have a valuable customer base in the

local residents who like to support their town businesses and book sales are never ending.

A small amount of other items are available in the shop, including calendars, one selection of

greetings cards, speaking books, maps and DVDs. All of these are areas where expansion is

possible especially the DVDs which are recent additions and have proved popular.

There are virtually no local competitors; the only other shop selling conventional books is a

combined Artists materials and book shop. There are shops selling old and antique books, but

neither Waterston’s nor W. H. Smith have outlets in the town. There was a Woolworth’s which has

obviously gone and the only supermarkets are a small Tesco’s and Summerfield’s.

GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR

On this level are maps, children’s books, The first floor is carpeted and has shelving to

DVDs and the majority of the fiction. most walls and large display tables for used

for new additions. There are other display racks

Books are displayed in various ways, these and most of the non fiction is located on this floor

including central display units and shelving

that covers the walls. The office and store room in the corner is simple

studded walling and could easily be incorporated

The floor is carpeted and the landing on the into the main room, allowing for inexpensive and

wooden stairs has the talking book displays. easy expansion.

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HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9.00am to 5.0pm.

TENURE: Fully renewable lease, the Landlord is responsible for exterior repair

Rent & rates are £7,990pa. The rent is fixed at this price for next year.

LEGAL Vendor and purchaser to meet their own contractual costs;

FEES: purchaser to meet the landlord’s costs for assigning the lease.

PRICE: £14,000 for goodwill, fixtures, fittings and the leasehold interest.

STOCK: To be sold separately at valuation. Values will be calculated at 50%

of the retail prices. The gross profit last year was 29.5% so the average cost price of an item would be around 70% of the sale price.

Therefore if stock is calculated at 50% of retail, an extra 20% profit would be made on all current stock.

The retail value is expected to be around £68,000 so this would return

an additional profit of £13,600, which is virtually the purchase price of the business. What a bargain!

VIEWING: Strictly by appointment through Lakey & Co.

The only reason for sale is because the owner is very near to retirement age, and possibly

because of this he has not explored some of the current possibilities for increasing sales. He does

not have a web site for instance and the introduction of a good web site should certainly enhance

book sales. He has only marginally tried to introduce alternative stock such as music, a bigger

range of greeting cards, talking books, book tokens for presents, stationary items etc. and

undertakes virtually no promotions or advertising. Sunday opening is also a possibility.

A new younger owner with forward looking ideas should be able to turn this well established shop

into a really good profitable business in a reasonable time and will be helped tremendously by the

new very low price and the fact that selling the existing stock will return an extra £13,600.

The claim of this business is that it supplies “new books for all of the family” and keeping

to this promise has resulted in a loyal customer base that passes from parents to children.

IN OUR OPINION A PERFECT BUSINESS FOR A BOOK LOVER IN A BEAUTIFUL TOWN

DO PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE

Lakey & Co are diligent in enquiring about the nature and terms of leases and dimensional accuracy. If, however you require clarification

regarding any specific element off these particulars, you are asked to raise any query prior to viewing so that clarification can be given.

It is not part of the Lakey & Co brief to determine the working order or efficiency of equipment included in the sale or the structural

condition of any buildings.

Robert B. Lewis. Reviewed January 2010. Issue: 011002