Buying a shop has both benefits and drawbacks for new business owners.

It’s a fair bet that if the previous shop owner has reaped success with the location you may also fare well and often there will be trained staff and suppliers already established, quickly removing some of the obstacles for you and allowing you to pick up and continue to run a successful business.

This blog offers insights about where businesses should look for stores as well as things to consider before agreeing to rent or purchase a premises for a retail business.

Where to look for shops for sale

The internet is your greatest resource when it comes to sourcing a worthy shop location. There are a number of online directories that you can use, all of which will allow you to search using specific criteria such as business sector, asking price and location. Some of the best are as follows:

-  Daltons Business, www.daltonsbusiness.com/buy/retailbusinesses-for-sale

-  BusinessesForSale.com,  http://uk.businessesforsale.com

-  RightBiz, www.rightbiz.co.uk

Factors to consider

Once you’ve found a shop that seems ideal and meets important elements of your criteria, it’s important that you consider certain factors that could have an impact on the success of your business.

Why is the shop up for sale?

There are a number of reasons why a particular premises may have gone up for sale and you need to be careful to consider ones that will adversely impact your business. For example, if the previous owner is selling because of nearby competition that is negatively affecting their business, you will want to assess whether this competition is going to continue to challenge the business.

What about competitors?

You’ll need to consider both the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and also find out if there are any plans for large retail parks to be built in the area any time soon.

Profits of the business

It’s important that you find out whether the profits for the business have been consistent over the years that it has been operating and if they haven’t been, you’ll need to ask about the reasons behind this. Is the cash flow seasonal? If so, it may be necessary for you to open an overdraft for a certain period of the year. 

If the Carillion collapse has highlighted one thing, it’s that small businesses need to have access to the relevant finance for their needs.

Small firms that are owed money by Carillion have now been confronted with cash flow issues, meaning that many jobs have been put at risk. The government has responded quickly to help the small businesses that have been affected, but what can we learn from the Carillion crash in terms of finance? 

In order to avoid becoming supply chain casualties, SMEs can take a number of actions.

Firstly, they need to look out for red flags and classic warning signs.

In the case of the Carillion, there were a number of things that pointed to the fact that the company was in trouble. Firstly, the fact that the company was taking up to 120 days to pay suppliers, with 30 days being the standard.

Another sign is the fact that some SMEs in the supply chain were quoted as saying their invoices were routinely being questioned on the grounds of the quality of the work or goods provided.

Both of these factors are classic hints that a company could be in trouble, and SMEs need to consider how this could result in negative side effects for them, including cash flow problems.

How to stay in control of your finances

When it comes to managing your SME, there are a number of things that you can do in order to stay on top of your finances. Firstly, it’s really important to have a financial plan that factors in any type of financial difficulties that you may run into.

Understanding your financial position is also really important, and what this means is that you are constantly aware of your outgoings and how much money your business has. Consider signing up for internet banking and getting an app on your phone that will allow you to constantly track your finances.

How we can help SMEs

We have a number of financing options available that can help SMEs sustain themselves and grow. We offer business loans, overdrafts and expansion capital from trusted lenders and always take into account the individual circumstances of every SME that we work with. To find out, more visit our website.