How to Sell a Pub, Hotel or Restaurant
If you are wondering how to sell a pub, how to sell a hotel or how to sell a restaurant, UK Pub Sales can help. We have been successfully selling pub, hotel and restaurant businesses for 24 years and can give you expert advice at all stages of the sales process. At UK Pub Sales we do far more than simply find prospective buyers for your business. We have extensive contacts with solicitors, accountants, valuers, surveyors and financial brokers, all with experience of the restaurant/hotel/pub property sector. We provide an all-inclusive service to ensure a sale is carried through as quickly as possible, bringing in outside expertise where necessary. So if you’re not sure how to sell a restaurant, hotel or pub, just call us to get things started and let us manage the process for you.
The rest of this page shows you how to sell a hotel, restaurant or pub, step by step. It aims to give you a flavour of the process, and show what actions you can be taking to get ready to sell.
How to Sell a Pub, Hotel or Restaurant in 7 Steps
Step 1: Collect Facts and Figures Together
Although buyers may be attracted to your pub, hotel or restaurant by factors such as location and external appearance, their decision will be based ultimately on the ability of the business to generate profit.
You therefore need to provide proof of trade – accurate figures showing the turnover in wet sales, food sales and other services such as room hire, as appropriate for your business. Ideally, you should have 2 years of audited accounts and/or VAT returns to show buyers.
Buyers will also need facts relating to the ownership position of the premises, such as length of any remaining lease, any applicable rents and so on. Evidence of expenditure on renovations or repairs is also useful as it helps prospective buyers assess how much work they may need to do themselves.
Buyers will also want general information about the size of the business such as number of covers (if there is a restaurant), number of letting rooms, numbers of existing staff, and so on.
Step 2: Present your Pub, Hotel or Restaurant at its Best
First impressions count just as much when you’re trying to sell a pub, hotel or restaurant as it does when selling a private house, if not more. If a prospective buyer is less than impressed by the appearance of your premises, they may think their future customers will be too. Alternatively, they will worry that they will have work and expense in store if they buy a pub which looks run down or in need of refurbishment and will be deterred from buying, or make a reduced offer.
Carrying out any minor repairs, refreshing paintwork and tidying gardens all help to create an atmosphere of a business which is well run and thriving. It may also be worth carrying out some larger scale refurbishment prior to going on to the market. Think about what aspects of your property’s appearance might deter buyers or give them an opportunity to make a lower offer, and then address those areas. For any major refurbishment, assess the cost of the work against the likely sale price to ensure it is cost effective.
Step 3: Instruct a Specialist Company such as UK Pub Sales
Once you have your paperwork and property in reasonable order, it is time to contact a company who really know how to sell a pub, hotel or restaurant, such as UK Pub Sales.
We will make an appointment to visit you, see the property, discuss your requirements and give an indication of the value your property might achieve in the current market.
If you decide to instruct us we will then begin to actively market your property through a variety of channels. The first stage is to arrange for photos to be taken and a full colour brochure of your property to be produced for your approval. Once this is ready, we begin a multi-channel marketing campaign designed to reach the widest possible audience for your business. This consists of 4 main channels:
- Our existing buyer list. We match your property’s details to buyers on our list and let them know a new business has come up for sale.
- Our own website. We list all businesses on our own searchable website, allowing buyers to browse and contact us.
- External websites. We list on other well known business property sites such as Daltons and BusinessesForSale.
- Advertising in trade magazines and newspaper business sections.
When prospective buyers express an interest we first assess their requirements and general buying position such as available funding, dependency on selling a house or business, and so on. This helps to save time on all sides by ensuring that buyers are serious and are a reasonable match for your business. If a buyer wishes to view your business we provide you, wherever possible, with a buyer profile prior to the viewing, and arrange an appointment with you. Generally the seller conducts the viewing, but we can be there if required. We then follow up with the buyer to find out their thoughts and feed them back to you.
If a viewer wants to make an offer, we then make detailed accounts and other relevant information about the business available to them so they can assess the business and make an offer. At this point, we will help negotiate offers on your behalf, aiming to achieve the best possible price for your business. At the same time we will be assisting the buyer, if necessary, to secure funding, organise valuations, surveys and so on – which all helps to speed up the process for the seller too.
Once a price has been agreed and both sides want to go ahead in principle, we move to the next step.
Step 4 – Create and Sign Heads of Terms
Heads of Terms are a written document which outlines all the particulars in relation to the sale which have been agreed by both parties, so everyone is fully aware of the exact terms of the deal.
The details included within this document includes such elements as: ingoing cost, length of lease, rent, rates, break clauses, rent deposit, decoration, the repairs the buyer will be responsible for, what items are included and excluded from sale, insurance and the contact details of all parties involved including freeholders and solicitors.
This is a chance for both sides to see the whole deal in writing and to clarify or negotiate anything which is not understood before taking the step of instructing legal advisors and incurring fees. Once both sides are happy, the Heads of Terms are signed and it is time to instruct a solicitor.
Step 5: Instruct a Solicitor
If you do not already have a solicitor that you are happy with, we can put you in touch with a solicitor who specialises in selling your type of business.
We will continue to monitor progress on your behalf to ensure everything is proceeding to plan, and to keep you updated.
Step 6: Carry Out Stock Valuation
Most pub, hotel and restaurant businesses will have stock on the premises at the point of sale, enabling the new owner to continue running the business immediately. The value of this stock can be considerable, so ensuring the stock is valued at the correct commercial level is important to ensure you are not short changed. UK Pub Sales can recommend stock takers who specialise in the licensed trade.
Step 7: Contracts are Completed and Exchanged
A completion date is set – typically 7 days after exchange – at which point any agreed monies are transferred to you and you vacate your business in readiness for the arrival of its new owner.
How to Sell a Pub – contact us now for more information on Selling your Pub, Hotel or Restaurant
