Successful Gite Complex With Heated Pool For Sale

Business description

Immediately available. 10% return on your investment, plus a family home, plus potential, plus a quality of life.

After thirteen years building up a successful business with a gite complex, we are finding that age is starting to make a difference. Being full year on year brings a handsome income and although everything has improved, the work has not got any easier. We are now ready to move onto other things and we are looking for a purchaser with the ideas and energy to take this successful business onto the next stage. We have had a very good living for ourselves and our three children out of our gite complex these last thirteen seasons.

When in 1996 we embarked on our great adventure to buy a complex for development, we had certain criteria to help decide on our investment. How important they turned out to be ten years later, when gites began to pop up like mushrooms in the woodlands hoping to be our competition. This year we were again full in all seven gites from the end of June to the end of September, in essence due to three criteria, location, location, location.

The Charente Maritime boasts the second sunniest region in France with over 2000 hours of sunshine every year, enjoyable for the owner as well as the holidaymaker. It is convenient for the western sea ports and now easily accessible from several airports. There are many attractions; we are just 20 minutes from many fine beaches, resorts such as Royan and La Rochelle offer a wide variety of activities, such as France’s largest zoo and its finest aquarium. The wine chateaux of Bordeaux and Cognac are within an hour’s reach and all these features encourage many first time visitors as well as a significant proportion of repeat bookings.

Self catering will always be the a perfect family holiday, but access is crucial and four to six hours travelling in France is more appealing than destinations further south, yet south of La Rochelle we note a step change in the climate across the seasons.

For the serious business investment six gites has that balance of good revenue without having too much to manage. Advertising and marketing is important to fill all gites, and it costs as much to advertise one gite as six. In reality, two or three gites demands you to achieve a higher number of week’s bookings to break even, if you have invested in quality fittings and renovation. Remember, outside of the three or four main summer months, almost everything in the brochure is available and rental is minimal. Good revenue is necessary for the regular replacement of beds, mattresses, linen, kitchen utensils, patio furniture; even a swimming pool needs a new liner after a few years - expenses that will hurt unless you have a worthwhile income. No wonder it is alleged that sixty per cent of English people go home after two years; they have not had long enough to get their business off the ground and have probably spent their financial reserves to make the property habitable. Estate agents advise buying an established business – the market is becoming saturated and renovation is not only too costly but only delays a realistic revenue.

Now that we are established, and know our business and our customers, we are full year on year. New gites should know that I am their competition, so they must offer better facilities for less money to win my clients from me.

We exploit the cottages through a limited company (SARL). We saved 20% VAT on our costs and the discipline of regular accounting kept us on the straight and narrow. The annual accounts and reports (all 40 pages) are there for transparency.

The gardens are substantial and kept green by an automatic watering system thus ensuring that all clients enjoy the flowers and bushes, even when it’s hot and dry. The heated pool is 14m x 7m, one of the largest advertised for the SW of France. Understandably the single most important attraction to the site, the separate toddlers’ pool ensures that our small clients are happy too. Both pools have been recently relined and are enclosed and alarmed, as per current legislation.

The private licensed bar has an original cognac still within it (an alembic) and is the envy of many, especially other gite owners! It’s shining copper tubes and Arabic shape is the perfect backdrop and sets off the atmosphere for exploiting the grape as well as drinking it. A new covered terrace has been added as insurance for activities “al fresco”.

The present owner has been coming to France since 1960 and has an opinion that Francophiles will always come back irrespective of the exchange rate, political climate or the fashion for other destinations – this has been proved and will always be the case. Self catering holidays are not a fad and indeed appear to be attracting even wealthier clients who are in search of a relaxing quality holiday, but they demand higher standards and more than the minimum of facilities.

For thirteen years we have invested all of the revenue into improving quality and standards of furniture and fittings. The site now needs no major investment to continue as a going concern. Whilst we cannot promise that the new owners will be able to sit by the pool all day with a glass of wine in hand, the potential to develop the beautiful unused barns and the quality of life that accompanies such a pursuit makes the purchase of our complex a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Property information

Real Estate:

Real Property Included

Living accommodation:

Main house has three good sized double bedrooms and an upstairs bathroom with shower over the bath. Downstairs, there is a fitted kitchen, utility room, downstairs toilet, large hallway, large living room with insert fireplace. Heating is by wood burning stove. Hot water is by immersion heater.

Location:

We are in the countryside, surrounded by vineyards, yet only 10 minutes away from the nearest town with supermarkets and banks.

Our village boasts one of the finest restaurants in this region, and there are many restaurants locally some of which we can personally recommend.

Close to Saujon, Meursac is halfway between Saintes and Royan, each less than 20 minutes away. The beautiful sandy beaches of the Côte de Beauté around Royan are a main feature of your holiday in this area. Ranging from the shallow estuarine beaches at Meschers to the surfing beaches of the Côte Sauvage (wild coast), the variety is there. The award winning zoo at La Palmyre boasts being the largest outdoor zoo in Europe and having been regular visitors; we can vouch for the cleanliness and well presented contented animals.

The impressive Roman town of Saintes with its remarkable amphitheatre and other Roman relics has the River Charente running through it. Its elegant buildings and floral parks encourage you to return after your first visit, and the daily markets provide a lively atmosphere and all the fresh produce you can imagine. A trip on the river with lunch has been enjoyed by many of our visitors.

La Rochelle is under an hour to the north with its historical buildings and fish restaurants, and in our view it is one of the most beautiful ports in France. A day spent ambling amongst the shops and buildings may even be the highlight of your holiday.

The privilege of staying so close to Cognac enables you to visit the famous Cognac chateaux, an absolute must at least once.

The Ile d’Oleron is about 40 minutes away and has miles of unspoilt beaches and rocky coastlines to explore. Futuroscope at Poitiers is a little further afield, but very popular or at the other extreme there are many Romanesque and Gothic churches locally for the history lover to visit.

Premises details:

Countryside location, but with all necessary amenities (schools, shops, banks) easily accessible. Growing English community nearby.

Size in square feet:

470

Other information

Expansion potential:

We are often asked to host evening functions during the winter, but up until now have resisted. There is an opportunity now, with more and more English people retiring to this area for out of season functions - quiz nights, bar snacks etc.

Competition / Market:

There is no competition nearby.

Support & training:

The present owners live opposite the site and are happy to help for a changeover period if the new owners would like this. Otherwise, we have other business interests and are just as happy to leave them alone to get on with it!

Reasons for selling:

Retirement, and other business interests.

Trading hours:

May to September

Furniture / Fixtures value:

€50,000 (included in the asking price)