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How to Sell a Gift Shop in the UK

Consider these helpful tips before selling your gift shop, so you can ensure a smooth deal.

Running a gift shop can be hard work. You will need to work weekends and holidays and there has been a lot more competition in recent years. Retail, in general, in the UK has become a difficult industry to survive in.

Taking these factors into account, you might be ready to sell your business and move into a new stage of life. 

If this is the case, there are several things that you will need to keep in mind when you approach the sale so that you can get the best value for your business.

Keep adding value Sell Your Business

If you have already started thinking about selling your business, it’s easy to stop putting in as much effort as you used to. This is, however, a terrible trap to fall into. If you are thinking of selling, you should, in fact, try to step up your sales so that you can get a better price for your business.

There are several ways that you can do this. You can add certain services like gift wrapping, consultations with customers or even classes or events.

These services will draw in new customers and, hopefully, increase sales. When a buyer is looking at businesses to buy, they will want to know that there is room for growth, and this is a good way to show to this.

Before you put your shop on the market, it is also a good idea to freshen up your inventory. Your stock will most likely be sold with the business and, therefore, a buyer will want to make sure they’re getting stock worth paying for.

As this advice suggests, you should be preparing for the sale of your business a long time before the keys are handed over. The earlier you start thinking about the sale, the better the sale will go.

Aesthetics count

When it comes to buyers looking at potential retail spaces to purchase, what your business looks like will make a difference. Before you list your business for sale, clean and tidy the shop.

Get rid of superfluous items, thoroughly clean the shop and fix anything that needs repairing.

If you have owned your shop for a number of years, the chances are that storerooms may have become disorganised. You should get things in an attractive and logical order. 

Whatever systems you use in your shop will need to be easily learnt by the new owner. You may, therefore, need to rethink the way that you do things.

Finding a buyer

When it comes to looking for a buyer for your business, you should carefully think about who it is that would be interested in your gift shop. Once you know, you can market it to them specifically.

If your shop is in a popular holiday destination, you might be looking to sell to a retiree or someone looking for a lifestyle change. Or, if you’re somewhere that attracts a lot of foreign tourists, the buyer could be someone looking to run a business that is constantly busy throughout the year. 

You can advertise your business in local publications or, if you are looking for a buyer from farther afield, you can advertise online.

The way that you advertise and where you advertise will change depending on factors such as these. What is true no matter what kind of shop you sell though is that you shouldn’t rest once you have got an enquiry. Initial deals can fall through so it can be helpful to have a backup buyer.



Matthew Hernon

About the author

Matthew Hernon is an Account Manager at Dynamis looking after Business Transfer Agents and Franchises across BusinessesForSale.com and FranchiseSales.com.