Asking price: £149,000

Sales revenue: £105,000

Net profit: Undisclosed

Fixtures value: Undisclosed

Stock value: Undisclosed

Business description
Shackleford Turf – growers of high quality turf for the domestic and commercial markets

Established in 1989 and under the stewardship of the current Owners for just over three years, this is one of the leading growers of turf in the south east of England. Operating from site conditions which is suitable for a broad selection of lawn types, this business offers a wide range of turf for different uses, using the latest grass varieties that are particularly suited to the local area. In addition to turf – either laid by its highly skilled and experienced team or delivered on a supply only basis, this business also offers topsoil, loam, seed and fertiliser – in low or very high volume quantities.

Currently operating from approximately twenty acres – with almost limitless additional capacity avaiable – of farmland, just south of Guildford and close to the A3 motorway, this business is at the forefront of turf developments within the industry. It specialses in its own blend – cultivating the resilient and hard wearing Hard Fescue variety of grass which tolerates the hottest of English summers, staying greener for longer and requiring less watering. Low maintenance lawns of this variety require less mowing than traditional lawn mixes and is therefore in signficant demand in the area in which this business operates.

Covering the whole of the south east of England, this business services both the commercial and domestic sectors – basically anyone who needs grass. Within the commercial sector it can boast a number of construction comtractors, landscapers and garden centres amongst its extensive and loyal customer base. It offers a fast, efficient and friendly service - the turf is grown without netting, on soil which is quite well drained and can be cut at most times of the year – regardless of weather conditions. .

The cornerstone to the success of this company is the undoubted growing skills there are within the business. This combined with economies of scale, its specialist turf machinery – in which this business has imvested heavily since acquiring the company - and own blend of seed has enabled this business to work with a low cost base resulting in an ability to offer real value and turf at a very competitive rate.

This is a very well established business with excellent growth prospects – reflecting the investment the current Owners of the business have made since acquiring it. With turnover slightly in excess of £100,000 for the financial year ending June 2009 generating gross profts of almost 95% and pre-tax net operating profits of £20,000, this represents an excellent opportunity for an existing operator within the turf growing sector to extend their presence within the industry or for a new entrant to establish a firm foothold in the marketplace by acquiring a leading regional player.

Key strengths:

Since acquiring the business just over three years ago, the Owners have invested heavily in plant, machinery and the technology required to produce the highest qaulity turf. As a result everything is now in place to take this business on to the next stage.

This business is ideally located in more ways than one. One of an ever decreasing list of turf growers in the country, this business is situated just south of Guildford with easy access to the A3, M3 and M25 motorways and a very wide catchment area right across the south east of England. More locally, the business is positioned in the heart of the Surrey countryside and a high density of large houses with equally large gardens owned by medium to high net worth individuals living in the surrounding towns and villages. The business is also based on land which is a very good match for its local marketplace – sandy, well draining soil, which is of an excellent quality for growing turf.

The business has an excellent reputation for providing a high quality turf at a very competitive price with high levels of customer service – consistently matching its customer requirements, particularly in relation to budget with the right kind of product. Not surprisingly it can boast an excellent loyal and repeat Client base on the commercial side of the business. It has an excellent supplier base and is particularly well served by its seed suppliers. Having developed its own blend for growing Hard Fescue, a hard wearing grass ideal for producing a fine bladed lawn, the current crop of turf is considered to be the best quality this business has ever grown.

Key opportunities:

Having made a significant investment in plant and machinery since acquiring the business there is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing products, services and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for its products and services combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas, motivation and enthusiasm will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.

With only part-time inputs from the current Owners - whilst a new owner would enjoy a very healthy return on investment simply by ‘farming’ the existing customer base there can be no doubt that dedicated day-to-day management of the business and a focus on sales and marketing in particular would have a significant impact on turnover and profitability. With an excellent reputation within the construction sector this business is ideally placed to take full advantage of the upturn in activity in this sector when it occurs.

Financial information:

The business is offered for sale as a going concern. All financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.

Turnover for the financial year ending June 2009 was almost £105,000, generating a gross profit of £102,000 and a pre-tax net operating profit of £20,000.

The Asking Price of £149,000 is for a sale of the assets and goodwill in the business. The plant and equipment is conservatively estimated to be valued in the region of £100,000 and at the current sales price there is approximately £130,000 of turf in ‘stock’.

Years established: 1989

Employees: The two current Owners, one of which works on the Accounts and Admin side of the business on a part-time basis are ultimately responsible for its financial performance, supported by two full-time employees, one of which is an expert in growing turf.

Property: Leasehold

Lease terms
Rent is currently £300 per acre

Location
The business operates from rented farmland near a very attractive village close to Guildford, Surrey. The premises include office accommodation, a newly renovated barn and yard for storage of equipment. Currently growing turf on approximately 20 acres, there is almost limitless capacity for expansion. Rent is currently £300 per acre

The land was originally secured on a three year agreement which is soon to expire, however it is understood there will be no problem extending the rental agreement.

Competition / Market
Well established, this business benefits from high levels of awareness within the trade and the local domestic marketplace. What marketing the business does is currently limited to the occasional local press advert and features in Yellow Pages. The business has a very well designed and informative website which performs very well in all the major search engines for all appropriate search terms. By far the most effective form of marketing, however, is the strong word of mouth recommendation the business enjoys, testimony to the high quality product and the high levels of customer service it provides.

Support & training
The current owners are happy to assist with a handover and training period to ensure a smooth transfer of the business to new Owners, however as only one of them currently works part-time in the business and with a highly experienced turf expert on the staff it is not envisaged that this will require to be extensive.

Reasons for selling
The current owners wish to pursue other business interests.