School taking over Pre-School

[kristina]

Hi

We currently rent a classroom/garden from a local primary school, we have been there since September'09 and I own and manage the Pre-School.

The primary school have recently become an academy and have approached me about the school taking over the Pre-School and employing me to run it. Has anyone else had this or already done this? Just looking for advice on how it went, does it work, do you regret doing it?

The school are saying its my decision but I'm conscious of the fact they only have to give me 6 weeks notice if i say no.

Thanks in advance.

[finleysmaid]

I cant offer advice but I was just thinking that as the owner this is not just them taking you over but actually buying the business I don't think i'd be giving them anything without them paying for it!! 6 weeks for a change in lease is very short!! have you had a meeting with them yet...why have they decided to do this now ?? You have to remember your pension rights and redundancy would all be affected by this too

[FSFRebecca]

I would speak to the legal team that come as part of your insurance package - it does sound like a very swift turnaround for a lease negotiation. They would need to pay market value for the business if they were to buy it and pay you a manager's wage - not what you necessarily pay yourself now as (if you're lucky) you are paying yourself dividends from profits. You would need to look to see what the financial impact for you would be if you 'sold'. Don't forget, if you do sell to them, to include the uplift in value that your knowledge and experience is bringing - you're not just 'a manager that they have employed' - you will have a value in the sale that needs to be calculated. You could talk to one of the nursery sales companies about this and about how it might be valued. Good luck, let us know what you decide. 

[kristina]

Thank you for the replies. It's given me a lot of food for thought and a bit of investigating to do!