Prominently located in Darlington town centre, One Stop Neasham Road News has been sold through Christie & Co off an asking price of £385k.
The convenience store has been run by a husband and wife team for over 20 years. In 2014 they transformed the store, securing a franchise agreement to work together with One Stop stores Ltd. This dramatically increased turnover and allowed them to expand the range of products offered for sale. The couple have made the decision to sell their business to pursue retirement.
The new owner, Mr Singh currently operates a similar business in Teeside and purchased the site several years ago through Christie & Co. Having had a positive prior experience with Christie & Co, he was confident the store was a quality investment and the transaction process would be made as smooth as possible by the team.
Matt Gudgeon, Consultant at Christie Finance secured the funds for Mr Singh to acquire the convenience store. He commented, “It was a pleasure working with Mr Singh on his acquisition of the One Stop store. Some lenders have limited appetite to support the retail sector, which can make it hard for entrepreneurs to access the finance they require to fulfil their plans.
'My experience of finance in the retail sector allowed me to navigate the market and negotiate excellent terms which fulfilled Mr Singh’s criteria. I have every confidence Mr Singh will propel the business to the next level.”
Andy Birnie, Retail Director at Christie and Co handled the sale and said, “ One Stop Neasham Road News is an excellent business; one which had previously been on with a smaller agent with little success. As we specialise directly in the sale of convenience stores, we had a number of likely buyers ready to call before we went to the open market.
“We utilised Christie & Co’s national marketing reach, together with local knowledge , which allowed us to target the most likely buyers and guarantee the best price for the client, which was a key focus.“
