A Business

[Ian B Walker]

As some of you will be aware I have been toying with the idea of setting up a general repair business catering for the older cars (W201 / W124). This morning I have been to look at a property that is but a 5 min walk from where I live. Never having set anything like this up before I was hoping members here could give me guidence. The property is 40 foot long, 20 foot wide, door opening is 9 foot, It has electrics including 415 Volts 3 phase and good natural lighting. No ramp, no pit. What would you expect to pay for a similar property. I am looking for some sort of ball park figure as I dont want to get ripped off. The last tennant did a runner leaving some unpaid rental. What other expenses would I be looking at? Is this the birth of the W124 Works? Thanks for reading and any assistance you can offer.

 

[fnkhan68]

cant help you but nevertheless a great idea, good luck if it goes ahead.

 

[machasm]

Can't help much except to wish you luck in your new venture Ian.
Mac.

 

[lotusmark2]

Is this the birth of the W124 Works? .

Cant offer much advice mate but hope this all falls into place for you

 

[sym]

Me neither, but Good Luck and hope it works out for you

S.

 

[219]

I don't have any expertise in this matter , but why don't you get a valuation survey carried out ?

Then you'll know what is a fair price for the property .

 

[Satch]

Like most things get some quotes, in this case from a Commercial Lettings agency or something like this:

http://www.ashtenne-online.co.uk/

In general you get what you pay for but in some parts of the country there is a glut of units to let and rentals have declined. But watch out for the Rates!

Speak to your local Enterprise Agency or Business Venture Agency, they usually have that sort of info. and all the other basics for startup businesses on tap.

 

[pammy]

Ian - wishing you lots of luck with this .

Don't have much experience with this but a couple of pointers for you:
Check out what Council Tax liability the place carries.
You will want insurance of course, electricity, water rates - is it metered or fixed rate? Phones - Business rates can be expensive I think.

Depending how much work you want to take on here you'll need to think about an invoicing system. Setting up trade accounts with suppliers

Security - bog standard alarm or something more sophisticated - likely to affect insurance costs.

if you take enough work to warrant staff - all the costs associated with that.

Accountant unless you plan to do your own book-keeping and paperwork.

I have a mate who looks after our non-warranty cars who has been our mechaninc for years. He set up his own business a few years ago in partnership and it's been a great success, although the partnership collapsed after only a short time. If you like I could have a word with him and see if he could have a chat with you about what you need to consider - you wouldn't be in competition so I would imagine he'd be OK with it - but I'd check it out first though - just out of common courtesy. Let me know if you want me to check that out/

 

[pluggers]

I would say look for wether its freehold or lease,Has it got water (for plenty of brews during the winter months) Another thing I would consider is if you ever planned to put a car lift in,Will the floor be strong enought to take the weight?Sorry cant help anymore and good luck

 

[Ashley]

If you don't know the rates post the postcode or street address. IMO commercial buildings tend to be priced at what the landlord is willing to let them go at. The landlord will be paying rates well it sits empty so it is in his interest to lease it. Specking of lease I would see if it can be done as continuous months with first refusal if it goes on the market. I have shot an email of to a friend at Christies & Co in Manchester asking what he would ask for, I will forward the reply to you. You want the Rates and Rent to be less then 25% of your turnover, if it more then that you will struggle to make a profit.

I can sort you out with a account software for free, that will do you invoicing and P&L (I used it until we took on the new book keeper). I'll stick it in the post tonight. Business have to have water meters so water rates do not apply. Security will have to be Red Care for your insurance or you will pay though the nose. It is not expensive and this will also give you a BT phone line also very very secure.

 

[Ashley]

FSB and Co-Op bank are doing free banking for life, if this is not a good reason to join the FSB there are plenty of others really consider joining before you start. It is not as good as the Masons for networking but networking aspects are worth it alone (although you do not have to attend the meetings). Or and they do good rates on card transactions though Streamline that you will not be offered by Streamline on your own until you have proven you account (around 100k a year). If you would like I can get one of your local campaigners to drop round to your house to have a chat, they will only sigh you up if you say yes but I promise he/she will be a mind of information.

 

[jgevers]

Hi,

Providing the site has motortrade planning permission, it sounds okay (maybe a bit small).
Just of the top of my head a few things to think about.

Parking. As a garage you will always have temporarily dead cars lying around that will need parking.
Council Tax. As a small business you will qualify for small business relief. But don't underestimate the impact on cashflow and profitability of this ludricous overhead.
Waste disposal. This is not part of your council tax and can increase your overheads considerably.
Water. Make sure the premises have a water meter. If not, the water company will knobble you for about £1200 per annum in charges.
Health and Safety. These guys will come in and inspect all your machinery in detail. All hydraulic equipment needs to be tested anually. Oil storage needs to be in bunded tanks. Seperate brick area for oxy-acetelyn bottles, battery storage in acid resistant crates, waste oil, coolant, brake fluid and fuel disposal documents need to be in order.
heating. Waste oil heating now needs a waste disposal license at a cost of about £12K a year.

Owning a garage myself, I would advise you to be very, very careful in estimating your overhead costs. In my area, I found that I needed to operate a minimum of 4 workbays at 6 hours per day to break even.

If you need more information regarding starting a vehicle repair business, let me know.

Cheers

Job

 

[grober]

red tape!

As Pammy says, council tax liability for commercial pemises. The other aspect that occurs is Health and Safety Executive concerns on waste storage and disposal regulations. You could possibly dig out an inspection pit and line it with concrete blocks if the owner would permit this but not as good as a lift, but lifts require building height remember. You may find its financially better to operate in the "grey " economy, simply to avoid all the red tape. Dont want to put you off since every business needs to start somewhere.

 

[lotusmark2]

From the sounds of all this, build an extension on the side of your house mate, do it from there! (or get your old shed torn down and go for a stand alone garage) Sound like it would be a heck of alot cheaper!

 

[jgevers]

Inspection pits will need automatic fluid separation tanks as drainage now. A ramp is cheaper.

Cheers

 

[grober]

low rise lift

Inspection pits will need automatic fluid separation tanks as drainage now. A ramp is cheaper.

Cheers

low rise lift?
maybe one of these or similar ?? http://www.rotarylift.com/library/post/marketingMaterials/151.pdf

 

[jgevers]

They look quite good. Bet you that it will be quite expensive.

You can get a new normal 2 post 2.5 ton installed for £1600 + VAT now. The extra wide, 3.2 ton Hoffmans that I use are about £2500 + VAT installed.

Cheers

 

[C43AMG]

Ian as discussed at the GTG all the luck in the World. Take care.

 

[Ashley]

Ian, don't be scared off by H&S it is not as bad as most make out (keep it under 5 employees and it is a walk in the park). I would agree with jgevers post and ensure you can turn a profit (and 1 that makes it worth doing). I have a cash flow forecast on my site, if you already haven't done one now is the time. 4 bays @ 6 hrs a day may seem a lot reading this post but his overheads will be different to yours. Start out as you mean to go and be tight (and I mean really mean with money) at work as every penny you spend at work is a penny less for you and your wife. I have nothing to do with the trade but a 3 grand investment in a lift does not seem much to me for such a essential bit of kit (I just had to replace a walk in fridge I mention this as all trades have these expensive bits of kits that allow us to ply our trade). If the building is valued under £10 for rates you will get a relief

Small Business Rate Relief
This relief came into effect on 1 April 2005.
Eligible businesses with rateable values of below £5,000 will get 50% rate relief on their liability. This relief will decrease on a sliding scale by an estimated 1% for every £100 of rateable value over £5,000, up to £10,000. Your local billing authority will calculate the exact decrease.
The relief is available to ratepayers with either:

• one property, or
• one main property and other additional properties, providing the additional properties do not have individual rateable values of more than £2,200, and the combined rateable value of all the properties is under £15,000 (or £21,500 in London). The threshold for the combined rateable value is dependent on the location of the main property. The main property is the only one that will have the relief applied to it. The additional properties will have their charges calculated using the standard multiplier.

In addition to this relief on liability, eligible businesses with rateable values of between £10,000 and £14,999 (or between £10,000 and £21,499 in London) will have their liability calculated using the small business multiplier.
The Small Business Rate Relief scheme is funded by a supplement on the rate bill of those businesses not eligible for the relief. This supplement is built into the standard multiplier.
Eligible ratepayers must apply for the relief each year, including those with rateable values between £10,000 and £14,999 (or between £10,000 and £21,499 in London). If your business ceases to be eligible on a day during the financial year, the relief will cease on that day. You must submit your application for the relief to your local authority within six months of the end of the financial year to which it relates - for the 2005/06 financial year, the last date for applications will be 30 September 2006.
Assuming a business meets the eligibility criteria, the relief can only be granted if the property the business occupies is on the rating list from 1 April. The date of occupation of the property is irrelevant, the key date is the effective date given to the property in the rating list. If the property has an effective date after 1 April, then the relief can only be applied for from 1 April of the following year.

 

[mobeyone]

Wish you all the best with this Ian - struggling to find time getting my idea of the ground! That blood alan suger has got his mits on an idea i was looking at!