Start up capital for new business

rageagainstessays

Could you not rent warehouse space and build your own cat hotel? Start an intense twitter/facebook campaign and steal all of their custom??

I can imagine the cats require Versace sofas and silk throws? I mean, I personally wouldn't let my cat stay anywhere without them. My Labrador also has expensive tastes Maybe, you could expand into dogs?

mehera

Even if you rented the space you would serious rennovation costs!!

Commercial units come gutted and you will have to plough 1000's in - partially for something as specialised as the OP says . . .

Or find an investor!

motorguy

shmeeko69 wrote: »

You'd have absolutely no chance in getting money from any high street lender, as they've really tightened up after 2008 and all their business advisers and managers now have a default answer of NO unless your name's Richard Branson or Alan Sugar.

If you've been unemployed for over a year and you need to raise £200k then, you have to rethink what you want to do, as this is a crazy amount of money for any small bricks and mortar business and especially in the current economic climate.

Sadly, I think you need to change your thinking and be more realistic as to what you want to do and forget this idea.

All the best

totally agree with this.

£200,000 is a tremendous amount of money to raise and even IF the O/P could use £100K out of their own property, that still leaves £100,000 to find and repay. Paying back the interest and capital on this even over 10 years would probably destroy any hope of getting a living out of it.

rageagainstessays

mehera wrote: »

.

Or find an investor!

'Hello Lord Sugar, I'd like to start a cat-house'........
Can't imagine that one would win.


http://www.longcroftcathotel.co.uk/pricing
I'm in love with the use of the word 'guest' on the website
£56 a day for a cat, I'm pretty sure I could get a decent hotel room for that..

I think even I'd eat the A La Cat Mezze

Jobseeeker

thanks all, as I said the majority of the 200k is the cottage and land wouldnt be paying much for the business itself. However I woudnt get a normal mortgage being unemployed

I might also try putting in an offer way below the asking price, I mean how many others are looking around to buy a cat hotel its been up for sale for a while

lincroft1710

But if the cottage and land have potential for other use or a large extension on the cottage, someone may buy it and just close the business side.

Savvy_Sue

Jobseeeker wrote: »

thanks all, as I said the majority of the 200k is the cottage and land wouldnt be paying much for the business itself. However I woudnt get a normal mortgage being unemployed

I might also try putting in an offer way below the asking price, I mean how many others are looking around to buy a cat hotel its been up for sale for a while

Which should ring some warning bells, IMO. After all, you can't be the only person who [STRIKE]nightmares [/STRIKE]dreams of running a cat hotel, and being able to get an established, apparently profitable business ought to be a no-brainer, IF it's valued correctly.

lincroft1710 wrote: »

But if the cottage and land have potential for other use or a large extension on the cottage, someone may buy it and just close the business side.

Which could be in the OP's favour: if the owners are more keen to sell it to someone who'd carry on the business than to sell it to the highest bidder, they may just accept a crazily low offer. I doubt it, but there's only one way to find out.

HOWEVER, the OP really should do Due Dilligence on EVERYTHING, AND draw up a business plan: how many cats to break even if it's just him (and he never goes on holiday!), how many cats to make a profit, contigencies for sickness, utility bills (and cats don't like the cold!), rubbish disposal, insurance, vet on standby etc etc etc.

Jobseeeker

thanks all yes i was thinking too big

I am still starting the business but checking on them in their own homes. Got a meeting with business gateway next week

sugarwalsh

I don't know if it helps at all, but on some 'change your life' type of programme on channedl 4 their was a lady who had set up a cat hotel franchise. It was apparently very lucrative. Maybe it's worth investigating if you are really keen on the cat hotel business?

TammBikky

Yes start small but dream big. Don't settle for the small time business you have running and try to do justice to your dreams in the long term! It sounds like you have a little to learn about business before you jump in the truly deep end anyway, so good luck on your learning curve. Try to find yourself a mentor, its a crucial key to success!!