Financial Fate - Are you in control or being controlled?

fc123

Just to add, we have a lot of local landlords in the area, and one I know of who has a fair sized but mixed portfolio is not increasing rents much, has even reduced a couple because (as my rent review surveyor told me) he is protecting his own interests. He is also interested in diversity in the area as he is local.

Ours is a comm, property pension fund thingy and owns the whole street...I wonder if they are short paying out the pensions in Dec....hence, no more monthly rent??

fc123

Conrad wrote: »

I quite like the idea! Make it the best damn tea shop that ever lived, because there are sooo many coffee shops now. Delivering the best is an art at which many fail IMO. Gonna have to be spotless, with great grub.

Oh Conrad...it is the perfect ethno tea shoppe lifestyle premises!

I am meant to be on the market by now too..but the agent hasn't come down for me to sign the papers.
I will post you a link.....I don't know where you are based now.

Brighton is a fab place to live but difficult to earn good salaries unless you are self employed....many commute to London..but that's tiring and pricey.
I walk along the beachfront to work.

Our problem is our retail mark up..not our T/O.
T/O has slumped 30% but it still breaks even. If we were on chainstore margins....rent level wouldn't be a problem at all.

We are 900 sq ft, character premises but new 'build' shell inside, new electrics etc. The new rent will be £42-£44k plus business rates were £16k last year..but are up again in April 09.

It needs to T/O around £450k pa to tick over nicely...not impossible....the bulk will come from the summer.

PasturesNew

fc123 wrote: »

It needs to T/O around £450k pa to tick over nicely...not impossible....the bulk will come from the summer.

That's a LOT of sticky buns and coffees!

fc123

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's a LOT of sticky buns and coffees!

I must find out Costas T/O..they are 3 doors down..mobbed in the summer plus weekends there is a cafe style society and locals go to the coffee shops to sit outside and read papers.....cos they live in expensive flats I guess.

The veggi restaurant is always full too.

The trick is to sell enough variety and be nichey but a little mainstream in approach.

Bills http://www.billsproducestore.co.uk/ is a fantastic local place (has one in Lewes too) always packed out, all year round...hidden away in North Laine....tourists never find it...unless I send them there.


Food just isn't my thing in terms of running business...I couldn't think of anything worse.

Our neighbours are currently in arbitration (rent review) ...so, once they settle, we settle....we are actually very 'good value'' according to our LAgent. We own the outside space too...for tables in the summer.

lostinrates

Fit in nicly as pat of your lifestyle conclave though FC123....

My mother sold some food stuff to some wll known London delis, restaurants and by extension to private functions when she was in London for some extra cash. Her stuff was in high demand and it was something she could do with a nipper in the kitchen. H and S has mad that a difficult proposition now, and consumr habits hav changed, my mother's chessecake was a weekly, seasonal delivery to the main deli, and that was fine, now people want it every day, in BIG quanities in London, because saying 'sold out' or 'on Thursdays' is not popular. I sell some of the same things to third generations of our cheesecake eaters, but only on a friendly basis (H and S again). Have thought very seriously about having second tiny kitchen put in if we build a house. (would be useful anyway in my particular circumstances) and churning out my good wares.

StevieJ

Generali wrote: »

Investing with hindsight is so much easier!

My opinion is that the pound has a lot further to fall as the assumptions on public borrowing that the Treasury are working on are very optimistic. I realise that they come out of the economic model that they use but I just don't see it.

Business has been largely starved of credit for the best part of a year. Unemployment must be about to fly upwards and with it the tax take fall and welfare bills rise.

That is very true but I would feel much happier investing at the moment than when the market is reaching new highs, I suppose I am naturally contrarian. The point about the markets is that they tend to overly discount the very items you have identified. I have also noticed that the markets double discount on bad news i.e. they fall after bad news that has already been discounted , the markets then aknowledge this and bounce back.

fc123

lostinrates wrote: »

Fit in nicly as pat of your lifestyle conclave though FC123.....

I will do whatever I have to do to tick over, in the end.;)
I am quite into food, just not cooking for more than 6 perons at once and serving it to strrrangers...and all that washing up...so then one gets in staff and....it all spirals into something dead stressy.

I have this real thing about sheep and self sufficiency but OH is not really interested. He wants to stay here.
Saving that discussion for a few years down the line.

We will deff open another shop in the area if we can re-assign this lease...just something smaller and more manageable...pref a freehold if we can afford it.
Funnily enough, the LA asked about that and I listed the 2 streets that I would want to relocate to..and he agreed.

When one has ones own set up, the great thing is one constructs it to suit.

Like your mum and the cheesecakes...does she want to be tied to the kitchen churning out cheesecakes with the responsibility of staff and Elf and Safety, 24/7?
It's all needs as must. Of course, if she was about to face repo or financial meltdown...she would just do what needs to be done......but when it's part of your lifestyle......different sets of priorities.

It's the one plus side to my life choices.:D

Pobby

fc123, just seen your rent and it`s huge. Having said that a friend of mine closed down in The Lanes in Brighton. £400k a year turn over and it just wasn`t enough. He had landlord troubles as well.

fc123

Pobby wrote: »

fc123, just seen your rent and it`s huge. Having said that a friend of mine closed down in The Lanes in Brighton. £400k a year turn over and it just wasn`t enough. He had landlord troubles as well.

There are much fatter rents than that now. Around the corner just let, 100k pa (guessing 45k business rates as well) for about 1200 sq ft.
Would you PM me who?...only cos I am nosy..you don't have to....I know most people.
Costa are on 75k (under review so going up) and much smaller than me...but corner and better location.

A lot of freeholds will be OK.Commercial mortgage paid off or low compared to current rents + business rates far less. At least some of them will keep some character in the area.

PasturesNew

cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesecake rocks!

I think most people have a little "wouldn't it be nice to bake things and earn a living out of it" dream in them somewhere. I have always had something in mind, but it's not done (to my knowledge) by anybody, so I won't spread it about. It's hot food, so fast food takeaway. I won't be doing it though.