High turnover Gloucestershire convenience store sold
Specialist property business advisor, Christie & Co has sold Hewlett Stores, a freehold Londis-branded convenience store in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, alongside its sister company, Christie Finance, who secured funding for the buyer’s purchase.
Hewlett Stores has been owned and operated by Mr and Mrs Kotecha and their son Jack for over 40 years, with the store coming to the market to allow the couple to retire. The business is well established and offers an ideal platform for an owner or regional operator to take it forward and build upon its excellent trading position.
Jamie Williams, Associate Director at Christie & Co who brokered the sale comments, “Hewlett Stores presented a fantastic freehold opportunity in a prime location. Similar sites are rarely available, so it was unsurprising that we generated over 20 viewings and 18 offers on the business. We wish our client an enjoyable retirement and Mr Subramaniam Sooriyakumar and Mr Suman Chandran the best with their new venture.”
Previous owner, Jack Kotecha comments, “After 40 years as owners of Hewlett Stores, we can now happily retire and hope the new owners continue the role of a much-loved community store. Christie & Co have offered a smooth transfer of a historic property and our agent, Jamie Williams provided an outstanding service.”
Experienced operators, Mr Subramaniam Sooriyakumar and Mr Suman Chandran have bought the store. Mr Sooriyakumar comments, “The immediate plan is to keep the business as is, add more stock and gain a feel for the business to see what works well in this area. However, we have plans to do a complete refit in the near future to modernise the business. This has been a very long process due to some personal issues, but Jamie at Christie & Co was very helpful, patient and professional even at times when we thought the deal might not happen. We would also like to thank Jimmy at Christie Finance for helping us secure the funds. Overall, we had a great experience. The previous owner of the business had been here for over 40 years. Due to his ill health, he wasn’t involved much towards the end of the sales procedure. We wish him the best and hope he will get better and enjoy his retirement.”
Jimmy Johns, Director at Christie Finance, who secured the funding for the new owners, comments, “Despite this being a challenging and protracted transaction from a sales perspective, we were able to get funding agreed and maintain this agreement throughout the process – a great example of team work between Christie Finance and Christie & Co.”
The freehold interest of Hewlett Stores was sold off an asking price of £750,000.
For further information on this press release, contact:
Bronte Hughes, Corporate Communications Executive
P: 020 72270794 or E: bronte.hughes@christie.com
Contact the agent:
Jamie Williams, Business Agent
P: +44 117 946 8507
E: jamie.williams@christie.com
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