Two Well Performing Freehold Licensed Convenience Stores located in the Outer Hebrides (ref 1783)

Two freehold convenience stores on the Outer Hebrides. Combined annual net turnover in excess of £1.5 million. Stores located within a 15-minute drive of each other. Both units have benefitted from recent investment. 900 and 340 square metres respectively. Scope to develop each business individually.

FREEHOLD

Guide Price £840,000 plus stock at valuation

Lovat’s Supermarkets are both located on the Outer Hebrides, with one store in Balinvanich, close to Benbecula Airport and the other a 15-minute drive south in Carnan, South Uist.

Benbecula and South Uist form part of the Western Isles and are connected by the South Ford Causeway which makes travel between them easy by road whilst Benbecula is connected to North Uist by the North Ford Causeway.

Although different, both islands enjoy stunning scenery with hills and moors to the east and beautiful sandy beaches on the west coast of each. Other nearby islands that make up the Western Isles are Harris and Lewis to the north and Barra to the south.

Benbecula benefits from its own airport at the island’s main settlement and administrative centre in Balivanich which has daily flights to and from Glasgow (c.45 minutes) and Stornoway (c.35 minutes). There are also ferry services from Oban and Mallaig to South Uist and from Skye to Benbecula.

Our clients have owned these two businesses on South Uist and Benbecula for many years, Carnan since 1987 and Balivanich since 2006. Both shops are vital for the residents of the islands, as well as being popular with the visitors and tourists.

The stores trade under the Nisa brand with the supply of goods coming from the Co-Op Group as well as a selection of other independent suppliers. Due to the location of both ‘Lovats’, the significant storage facilities with walk in chillers and freezers are vital to ensure plentiful back up stock to keep the shops full.

Both of the shops offer Post Office services and are in good condition throughout. They benefit from a Premises Licence under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and both units have plentiful car parking available. We estimate the subjects extend to Balivanich 900 square metres and Carnan 341 square metres.

There is space available to potentially look at adding more to the shops by way of hot food counters or even some form of café.

The sale of these two Lovats Supermarkets offers an outstanding opportunity to a prospective buyer looking for a complete lifestyle change and to escape the mainland. The businesses are only 15 minutes apart so complement each other operationally and can be managed accordingly.

Although the location may seem remote, it is worth noting that Glasgow is only a 45-minute flight away as well as frequent ferry services being available.