Business description

The opportunity has arisen to aquire both a manufacturing factory and a retail shop that specialise in outdoor country clothing.

The retail outlet was established over 200 years ago and is located in a busy tourist area in Perthshire. The shop specialises in the supply of garments such as deerstalkers, waistcoats, plus two’s, plus four’s, flat caps and other items used for hunting, shooting and fishing pastimes.

The manufacturing factory, which is located in West Yorkshire, was established over forty years ago. The current owners acquired the operation in 1999 as their specialist manufacturing arm to supply their retail outlet with jackets, trousers and waistcoats. The business also supplies products to other specialist outdoor clothing retailers across the United Kingdom.

The owners have suggested that new hands on owners with ambition and drive would be able to grasp the vast opportunities on offer and they would be prepared, as an option, to sell the manufacturing side of the business separately, if required.

Key Strengths:

This is a well established company with long historic trading figures

The manufacturing arm specialises in top end quality outdoor clothing, with the all important “Made in UK” label. All garments are made from UK woven cloth and are hand made with CTM production. Fabrics such as corduroy, tweed and mole skin are the most popular for use in the outdoor field. They supply mainly to their own shop and are able to manoeuvre production according to the shops stock needs. There are other shops in UK who are supplied with many other sales opportunities available. There is a small team of cutters, pressers and experienced machinists in the factory with the head cutter being the manager of the operation.

The retail shop is in the perfect Perthshire location for the type of merchandise that is stocked. A very large number of country estates are supplied with country clothing and accessories, which include the estate managers, gamekeepers and beaters. During the season, from April to October, the location, which is a nominated tourist stop, attracts a vast amount of tourists and adds to the passing trade.

Financial Information:

The business is being offered for sale on a going concern basis, all financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.

The turnover is circa £300,000 per annum with Gross Profits of circa £90,000.

For genuinely interested parties there are separate management accounts for both the manufacturing and retail divisions available.

Property information

Property:

Leasehold

Lease terms:

The lease is circa £9,000 per annum with rates of circa £2,000 per annum. The lease runs on a rolling month to month basis.
The rent is circa £17,500 per annum with rates of circa £8,000 per annum. The lease term is negotiable.

Location:

The manufacturing division runs from a traditional two storey factory in West Yorkshire. The lease is circa £9,000 per annum with rates of circa £2,000 per annum. The lease runs on a rolling month to month basis.

The retail shop comprises of single storey premises, which are fully alarmed and secure. The premises measure circa 2,500 square feet in total and consist of retail space, offices and storage. The rent is circa £17,500 per annum with rates of circa £8,000 per annum. The lease term is negotiable.

Other information

Expansion potential:

The factory has spare capacity and at present is in a loss making situation. The vendor realises that investment in a fully functional website plus further marketing could attract added sales from new customers and significantly improve turnover. Currently there is no sales person within the company and no sales agent or export sales is employed to promote the wide range of products, this is an area that could be looked at in the future along with the distribution channels to enhance profitability. The outdoor country clothing products are all top quality, there is very limited competition to rival the standard supplied by this company. There is a definite ongoing market for this merchandise.

The retail shop could perform to a higher level with only minor alterations relating to the running of the business. Creating an on line shop would attract more customers and there is very little competition in this area, plus with the heritage and quality of the product supplied it would certainly appeal to the growing number of people who buy on line.

Support & training:

The owners would be happy to help out in any way possible for a negotiated period of time to ensure a smooth transition of ownership, and to introduce the new owner to all of the major connections that the company deal with on a regular basis.

Reasons for selling:

One of the owners has reached retirement age and the other owner wishes to concentrate his efforts on his other business interests.