Melsampson66 Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 A local nursery has closed down and is now up for let. I've no idea what I would need to do or where to go for info! So....what things do I need to do if I were to make an offer?
finleysmaid Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 DONT DO IT! No..im joking!! go to the letting agent and ask for the details. You'll then have square footage and loos etc and can work out numbers and therefore income. Do you have a local sustainability survey (usually online google) which would tell you about demand Can you get hold of the previous owners (ofsted reg/families info etc???) maybe email or ring them and ask if you can have a chat as to what the issues were with them closing? (if you don't ask you don't get!.....They can only say yes or no) Go and have a look Around, what's there already ? outside space?car parking? any issued with the building? roof ok ETC ETc book a visit with the letting agent. Once you've done all this then you can start to formulate a business plan ready for ofsted/finance etc
Melsampson66 Posted February 7, 2018 Author Posted February 7, 2018 Thank you!!! The letting agent won't let me book a viewing until I have provided a viable business plan and proof of available funds. How do I know how much funds I would need? They also want me to indicate how I would plan to layout the space, more info on my concept and my background within the industry. Seems a lot just to get a viewing!!! Any help appreciated
finleysmaid Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 do you know who the landlord is? How do you think you might go forward? as a private business /charity/or are you using it as an additional setting to the one you are involved in again.Have they sent you a property pack then with measurements etc? CV is probably the easy thing on that list!
Melsampson66 Posted February 7, 2018 Author Posted February 7, 2018 As a private business. They have sent me the plan with measurements. Looks like I've got a lot to do !!
finleysmaid Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 if you can find out who the landlord is then you could ask them direct and explain how the figures are worked out so that they understand seeing the building is necessary. The landlord may have had a bad run with the previous occupiers and therefore is asking for you to be vetted. I do think if you can get some info on the previous occupants this might help to find out the pitfalls of the business! Otherwise simple business plans (business balls .com) are not too onerous It might be worth you having a chat with your bank as they have small business advisors (Free) ...don't let them sell you any loans!) or if you have an accountant .... You will need some funds to start,,, what category lease is it ? this will make a difference as to who they can rent it to (D1/D2 etc?)
finleysmaid Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 try here https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan
Melsampson66 Posted February 7, 2018 Author Posted February 7, 2018 Not sure who the landlord was but I'm inclined to think it's the council. They were the ones I was in contact with and then they directed me to the agents. The previous people had it as a Nursery but it closed almost overnight. Apparently, the staff and parents were emailed on a Sunday night to say it wouldn't be open the next day! Its a very small setting and when I looked round (for a place for my daughter) they only had a max of 8 children! I've no idea how much funds I need...do you pay the annual rent up front? I'm so clueless....never rented anywhere in my life!!! RDG 51 Armour Hill Tilehurst Jan 18.pdf
FSFRebecca Posted February 8, 2018 Posted February 8, 2018 I would approach from a very practical point of view: How many toilets are there? that will tell you how many children you can have as a maximum before you start Ask for a floor area measurement - that will tell you how many children the space can take Use the floor area/toilet availability to see what a sensible number of children is Then you'll know how many staff you need Then, here's a scary thing, multiply the number of children by the funding rate you will get - that will tell you what you can afford to offer in terms of funded places Costs: staff, rent, rates, utlilities, waste management, resources, registration fees and ongoing costs, training costs etc etc etc Find out if the lease means that you pay for repairs, or does the landlord? Find out when things were done recently for maintenance I would also offer a lower rent while you get yourself established - the landlord isn't making any money on it while it's empty - better some rent than no rent Look at the last Ofsted, it will tell you how many children they were registered for. If it is only 8 then the sums don't add up, 8 children need 2 staff, as you can't be on your own with them. That'll be why they closed. If it was me, I would write a proposal based on the best case scenario so ... "My nursery will have a maxium of 16 children between the ages of 3 and 4 years. Of these, 8 will be fully funded children. I intend to open between the hours or 9.15 and 3.15 Monday to Friday, term times only. Each day we will ....." The agent just wants to know that you know what you are talking about. Good luck! I'm fascinated to hear what you find out!
Stargrower Posted February 8, 2018 Posted February 8, 2018 (edited) The flyer gives you quite a lot of info. Could you not just go to one of the viewing sessions on the flyer? A repairing and insuring lease means you as the tenant are responsible for buildings insurance and the repair of the building. Edited February 8, 2018 by Stargrower
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