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BUSINESS REFERENCE : CH045 / RightBiz UK’S LEADING SUPPLIERS & MANUFACTURER OF CATERING EQUIPMENT | | | | | | One of the UK’s leading Suppliers & Manufacturer of catering equipment for hotels, bars and high volume food outlets worldwide Confidentially offered for sale Ref. no: CH045 Location: South East Asking price: £1,750,000 | | | BUSINESS LOCATION: | Undisclosed Relocatable UNITED KINGDOM | | BUSINESS SECTOR: | Catering | | TRADE TYPE: | Other | | SALE: | Agent Sale | LEASEHOLD: | £1750000 | | | | | | | | | | | BUSINESS DETAILS: | Established for almost sixty years, this business is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of catering equipment. Whilst the business sells a little into the retail market the overwhelming majority of sales are to the catering trade. Having originally built its reputation with a commercial toaster, its extensive range now encompasses everything a modern commercial kitchen would ever need – from burger presses to waffle and cone machines and everything in between including contact grills, crepe machines, hot dog machines, hot plates, ovens, slicers and lots more besides. Such is the extent of the range and the demand amongst catering outlets for these products you would be hard pressed to find a High Street in the UK with restaurants, hotels, coffee bars or high volume food outlets – including some of the world’s most famous brands - without a product from this business. And it’s not only in the UK where this business has established its reputation. Approximately 40% of turnover comes via exports - to approximately thirty countries worldwide, including most of Europe and the Middle and Far East.
Operating from very well suited premises – a combination of freehold and leasehold, this business manufactures and assembles a large proportion of its range in the UK. Acting as Sales Agents for some of the top manufacturers in their sector in the world, additional models within the range are imported into the UK and re-badged.
Positioned very much at the top quality end of the market – top of the range toasters sell for anything up to £1600 and contact grills for £1250 - this business’s excellent reputation is built on awareness of its brands, very high standards of craftsmanship, product durability and stylish design, with products continuously updated to incorporate the latest technology and ergonomic designs to enable chefs to maintain the very highest standards. Every machine is assembled by hand and comes complete with a generous warranty – reflecting the confidence this business has in its capabilities and its suppliers. This together with outstanding reliability and very high levels of customer service – a next day fix or replace service is in place for several prestigious, high volume chains - ensures a constant demand from new and existing customers.
Turnover for the financial year ending November 2006 was £1.81m generating gross margins of approximately 46%. Having recently absorbed a similar operation, the business has been through a period of consolidation and is now in an excellent position to take full advantage of its superb reputation in the marketplace. As such it represents an excellent opportunity for any organization to extend its activities into the commercial and retail catering sector or an existing operator seeking to establish a foothold in the UK market with a thriving export trade.
Key strengths:
Established for over 60 years and with a wealth of experience, not surprisingly, this is a very well run business, confident in its knowledge of the marketplace, its product range and how best to develop it to meet ever changing customer needs. Its products are of the highest quality, constantly updated to incorporate the latest technology and design thinking and then handmade by skilled craftsmen. All machines are individually tested and certified before leaving the factory. The business owns a huge volume of tooling, a number of registrations and approvals in the UK and overseas markets. It offers the highest levels of customer service – service and spare parts are available on an instant response basis with all products fully guaranteed.
This business has an enviable customer base across all of the catering trade – hotels, restaurants and high volume food outlets - including some of the most famous brands in the UK and throughout the world. It has a thriving export market.
Perhaps the greatest strength this business has however is its people. This is very much a people oriented organisation. As well as being highly trained, the employees of this organisation are highly motivated to manufacture the quality products and deliver the levels of service that sets this business apart from the competition.
Key opportunities:
There is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing product range and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for its products combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing additional resources, fresh ideas – particularly in the area of marketing, drive and enthusiasm will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.
This business has an excellent range of products and a significant presence in a diverse range of markets worldwide. As well as identifying and introducing additional products into the various markets in which this business is already established the business would perhaps benefit significantly from a more strategic approach to marketing – to identify additional markets for existing products – the launch of a waffle version of the contact grill in Continental Europe for example, where the market for waffles is very substantial - and to ensure the current product range is sufficiently promoted within each market.
Although this business has primarily focussed on the commercial market in the past there is excellent scope to leverage its reputation for quality product and skilled craftsmanship to enter the retail market. Indeed designs are well advanced for the launch of two new models of toaster geared specifically to this sector. There would then be further scope to extend the range even further within the retail sector. | | | | | BUSINESS STATUS: | FOR SALE | | | | | SELLER: | TURNER BUTLER | | CONTACT: | 01895 25 6000 | | REFERENCE: | CH045 / RightBiz | | ENQUIRIES: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
