Overview
D & S Specks is a long-established deli, fruit and veg and convenience store trading from a very large premises in Hull, East Yorkshire. Established in 2007, the business has been built up by the same owner over nearly twenty years and now comes to the market as a genuine retirement sale.
The store offers something genuinely distinctive: a deli counter serving hot and fresh food on one side, a dedicated fruit and veg operation on the other, and a convenience range running through the middle. This combined offer, delivered from one sizeable unit, has embedded the business in its local community and generates a turnover of approximately £170,000 per annum.
For an owner-operator, a couple or a buyer looking to enter food retail with an established trading base already in place, this is an attractive and flexible opportunity. In particular, it is an ideal opportunity for a couple to run themselves. The business can be run exactly as it trades today, or reshaped by a new owner with fresh ideas.
Business Highlights
- Established in 2007, with close to twenty years of local goodwill
- Turnover of approximately £170,000 per annum
- Combined deli, fruit and veg and convenience offer under one roof
- Established additional income streams from yearround flower and mixed bouquet sales, seasonal bedding plants and perennials, and strong summer compost sales
- Around 500 bunches of flowers sold each Mothers Day
- Very large store of approximately 1,700 sq ft with space to develop new income streams
- Deli equipped with a cooking griddle, fridges and a large walkin fridge, serving hot food, bakery products and fresh meat
- Simple staffing structure, with a parttime member of staff expected to stay on
- Stock available in addition at valuation
- Genuine retirement sale after nearly two decades of ownership
The Business
The business operates across three complementary strands. The deli side is equipped with a cooking griddle, fridges and a large walk-in fridge, offering bakery products, fresh meat and a wide range of hot food, together with a Coca-Cola drinks machine. The opposite side of the store carries fruit and veg alongside biscuits, cakes, crisps, chocolates and drinks, with a convenience offering in between.
The business also does good sales on flowers throughout the year, a combination of mixed bouquets bought from a local warehouse, together with an extensive range of bedding plants and perennials from March through to July, again sourced locally. Mothers Day is an exceptionally busy weekend, with around 500 bunches sold every year, and compost is also a massive seller throughout summer, involving local deliveries.
Trade comes from regular local custom built up over nearly twenty years at the same site. The owner runs the business day to day alongside his wife, supported by one part-time member of staff, who is expected to be willing to continue with a new owner. The operation is straightforward to understand and simple to take over.
Location
The business trades from Hull, East Yorkshire, serving its local community from a substantial retail unit. Its long, unbroken trading history at this location since 2007 means the shop is a familiar and trusted part of the area it serves, with the kind of local standing that takes many years to build.
Premises & Tenure
The business occupies a very large store with a floor space of approximately 1,700 sq ft, plus additional rooms for prepping and storage, giving an incoming owner a sizeable and flexible retail space that comfortably houses the deli, convenience and fruit and veg sides of the operation, with room to spare for new ideas. There are also facilities to run a café, with tables and chairs on the frontage. The premises are held on a leasehold basis under a rolling lease, with the opportunity for a buyer to agree new terms with the landlord as part of the purchase.
Financial Overview
Headline trading figures, as advised by the owner, are as follows:
- Turnover: approximately £170,000 per annum
- Net profit: approximately £15,000 per annum
- Adjusted profit: approximately £31,000 per annum, after addbacks including bounce back loan costs and car and van expenses
All figures are approximate and will be substantiated during due diligence.
Growth Potential
The scale of the premises and the breadth of the existing offer give a new owner several clear directions for growth:
- Introduce a café element, with facilities already in place for tables and chairs on the frontage, building on the existing deli and hot food trade
- Install an oven to bake on site and extend the fresh food range
- Develop the convenience side of the store while retaining the established deli and fruit and veg trade
- Build out the digital presence, which is currently limited to Facebook
The current owner is open about the fact that fresh eyes could take the site further; after nearly twenty years, the fundamentals are in place for someone new to add their own spin.
Reason for Sale
The sale is due to the owner's retirement after almost two decades running the business.
Next Steps
This is a rare chance to take on a long-established, community-embedded food retail business with a very large premises and clear potential for development. Interested parties are encouraged to enquire early to arrange a discussion and, where appropriate, a viewing. Full details are available in the Information Memorandum.
