Asking price: £315,000

Sales revenue: £1,000,000

Net profit: Undisclosed

Fixtures value: Undisclosed

Stock value: Undisclosed

Business description
Established for over twenty five years this business provides the full spectrum of guttering solutions to Commercial, Industrial and Domestic customers throughout the South East of England. Offering a comprehensive range of extruded and pressed metal rainwater and aluminium gutter systems, this business has a wide ranging customer base that includes Local Authorities, local businesses and many of the major construction companies operating within the area. With undoubted expertise and many years of experience in design, fabrication and installation together with a maintenance and repair service which includes a gutter cleaning service which in itself provides good quality leads for repair and replacement work, this business really is a ‘one stop shop’ for all things in guttering. This company also provides a range of complimentary products including fascias, soffits, wall copings, louvres, cappings and flashings to a standard and bespoke design in a full range of powder coated colours.

This business offers a full range of standard products. The business also has, however, a comprehensive portfolio of bespoke designs for individual buildings such as schools, hospitals, public buildings, MOD, office blocks, supermarkets, banks and factories, frequently working very closely with Architects and Designers to ensure the correct system for their project utilising its full in-house CAD drawing facilities. But it is perhaps on site where this business is at its most impressive with a system tailor-made for domestic properties in particular – roll formed on site without any joints in the running length. The guttering is manufactured from a mobile factory producing the gutter to the exact dimensions required, eliminating any waste. Presenting a moulded O’GEE profile the gutter has hidden internal brackets or a continuous leaf guard protector, giving a smooth uninterrupted line to the roof edge.

With most types of conventional guttering requiring some form of maintenance this business offers a repair system which can fix leaking joints, failed brackets and dripping downpipes – whether PVC, cast iron, steel or aluminium using modern sealants and a service to source spare parts second to none. And if the problem is just a blocked gutter, then its state of the art gutter vacuum cleaning system with the capacity to reach up to 50 feet without the use of ladders or scaffolding is the answer.

This is a very diverse, full service guttering business with an excellent reputation for high levels of customer service, expertise and experience. With turnover for the last two years ranging from £850,000 to slightly in excess of £1,000,000 generating gross margins of approximately 25% this business represents an excellent acquisition opportunity for any existing operator to extend their geographical coerage throughout the South East of England or for a new entrant into the sector to acquire a very well managed business with good profit margins and excellent growth potential.

Years established: 1983

Employees: The two joint Owners working in sales and technical capacities respectively are responsible for the day-to-day running of the business supported by two office staff and six fitters.

Property: Leasehold

Lease terms
Rent is approximately £14,400 per annum. Rates are £5,600 per annum. The exact term of a lease to new Owners will be agreed subject to negotiation.

Location
Ideally situated on a small industrial park offering easy access across the South East of England via excellent motorway links this business operates from leased premises of approximately 2,350 square feet with the Ground Floor given over to the Workshop and the First Floor, office accommodation.

Rent is approximately £14,400 per annum. Rates are £5,600 per annum. The exact term of a lease to new Owners will be agreed subject to negotiation.

The business currently rents additional ad hoc storage space in local farm buildings, also offering easy access. Rent is £350 per month.

Competition / Market
As well as appearing in all of the major local directories, Yellow Pages, Thomson’s etc as far as the domestic market is concerned, this business regularly appears in relevant features in local , property based, magazines. Having been established for such a length of time this business already benefits from high levels of awareness amongst Architects and Designers handling major commercial projects benefiting from high volumes of repeat business and strong word of mouth recommendation, testimony to the very high levels of customer satisfaction this business engenders. Acknowledging there is no better advertisement for the business than previous projects this company will often accompany prospective buyers on-site to current or previous jobs to illustrate their capabilities. The business also has two very well designed and informative web-sites – aimed at the domestic and commercial sectors respectively which perform well in all of the major search engines for all appropriate search terms, though like most websites they might benefit from a small investment in search engine optimisation techniques.

Support & training
The current Owners will provide all necessary training and all relevant contacts to ensure a smooth transfer of the business to new Owners – even to the extent of retaining some involvement in the business going forward, subject to negotiation.

Reasons for selling
The current Owners feel they have taken the business as far as they can within their own skill set and are looking to pass the management of the business on to new Owners to take it on to the next stage of development.