Long held fish & chip shop with upside, Hearne Hill

Key features

• £2,500–£3,000 weekly turnover on restricted hours
• Same ownership for 19 years, genuine health-driven sale
• Trades only 2 lunches and 5 evenings, closing 9pm
• Good-class residential catchment on a busy through route
• New lease available direct from the landlord

About this business

A traditional fish & chip takeaway in Hearne Hill, south east London, in the same hands for the last 19 years and now offered for sale due to the owner's health. Currently turning over £2,500 to £3,000 a week on a deliberately light schedule — just two lunchtimes and five evenings, all closing by 9pm — on a basic counter menu. The position and catchment are the prize here: with a refit, normal hours and a broader menu, the upside is substantial.

Trading figures

Weekly turnover sits between £2,500 and £3,000, achieved on a deliberately easy schedule of two lunchtimes and five evenings, with the last service finishing at 9pm. Trade is almost entirely counter sales on a basic fish & chip menu, with a small contribution from Just Eat deliveries. The vendor is candid that with the shop modernised, opening to normal hours, and the menu broadened to include kebabs or other options, turnover could comfortably treble or more.

Trading hours

Lunches: Friday and Saturday, 12.00pm – 2.00pm. Evenings: Tuesday to Saturday, 5.00pm – 9.00pm. There is clear scope to extend the trading pattern, which will be obvious on inspection.

Business premises

A traditional older-style lock-up with a wide forecourt leading to a glazed aluminium-framed shop front, set under a canopy with a large bold lit fascia and additional signage. The customer area has tiled walls and flooring under covered strip lighting, fronted by a Preston & Thomas counter range. Behind the counter there is ample working space with shelving, a sink unit and a menu display, opening directly into a fully tiled preparation area with two sink units and a dedicated potato prep zone, plus a separate storage space. The shop honestly needs a full refit and a more considered layout — but the bones, the position and the lease are all in place, and once the work is done this could be a genuinely high-turnover operation. A new lease is available direct from the landlord.

Trade equipment

The frying centrepiece is a two-pan Preston & Thomas counter range, supported by a digital till, two-pot bain-marie, toaster, griddle, fridge, fridge/freezer, microwave, a small chest freezer, gas cooker, chipper and peeler.

Trading position

Well established on a small local parade of seven shops, sitting next to a convenience store and a pharmacy with a post office close by. The parade fronts a busy through route serving a good-class residential catchment, the kind of mixed daytime-and-evening footfall that supports steady year-round trading rather than feast-or-famine peaks.

Special remarks

A rare 19-year tenure coming to the market for the right reasons — the vendor's health is forcing a premature sale, not a tired pitch or a struggling business. The shop is honest about what it needs: a proper refurbishment and a willingness to trade the hours the catchment can clearly support. For a younger owner-operator or a capable family team prepared to invest in the fit-out and run it hands-on, the position is excellent and the upside is real. Inspection is strongly recommended to appreciate the potential.