Why should I buy a coffee shop or café?
Buying a coffee or butty shop can be an exciting venture. Some of the main reasons to consider owning one include:
- You can become your own boss
- You can be a central part of your community
- You can tap into the high demand for food and beverages
- You can make a healthy profit
- There is plenty of opportunity for growth
“Purchasing a café or coffee shop offers significant advantages for new owners. These businesses often come with established infrastructure, customer relationships and recognised locations, providing a solid foundation and a faster path to realising your goals in the hospitality sector.”
Paul Williamson, Managing Director
Key considerations when buying a café business
Choosing the right type of café business can sometimes be difficult. Understanding what each one does can make the process a little easier.
- Café – Serving hot and soft drinks and a broad food selection. Table service is usually offered, and you will have a collection of kitchen staff
- Coffee shop – Focusing on high-quality coffee while selling a limited food range, such as pastries and confectionery items
- Tearoom – Providing a traditional tea service and light food menu, including items like scones and cakes
- Sandwich shop – Making delicious sandwiches, salads and soups for customers on the go. Typically offer soft drinks and cakes too.
If you require extra assistance choosing, we’re happy to help. Please contact us now, and we’ll consider your goals and make tailored recommendations.
How do I buy a café or coffee shop?
We’ve streamlined the buying process to make acquiring a café or sandwich bar as simple as possible. You can expect to follow these steps:
- Find the business you wish to purchase
- Request further information from our experts to assess the company further
- Perform your own due diligence to understand if there are any challenges you may face
- Negotiate a deal through our specialists
- Finalise the paperwork and ensure everything is covered with your lawyer
- Transfer the funds and become the new owner
It’s possible that you may need to register the business before you can start serving customers, so let us know if you’d like support with this aspect.
Why should I buy a café through Ernest Wilson?
Get access to 75 years’ experience and a dedicated team of specialists when you choose us to buy a café or sandwich bar for sale. Not only have we sold over 40,000 businesses since opening our doors, but we’ve also received glowing reviews from many of our past clients. We believe this should give you the confidence to choose Ernest Wilson for this service. Plus, we can even help you finance the purchase if you need extra capital support.
Find a café or sandwich shop for sale and take it over now
Browse our range and buy one of the sandwich bars, coffee shops or cafes we have for sale now. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any extra assistance. Got a café or coffee shop you’d like to sell? We can help with that too. Check out our selling a business guide to learn more.
Frequently asked questions about buying coffee shops and cafes
How much do I need to buy a coffee shop?
Coffee shops and cafes vary in price. We typically sell businesses worth less than £10,000 all the way up to around £500,000. It’s also important to remember that the company you buy may need further investment to renovate the premises.
Are cafes profitable in the UK?
Cafes have the potential to be very popular in the UK. There is a huge demand for quality food and drinks, which means the potential to earn large sums of money is high. However, having good staff members, a great menu, and low food wastage will be critical to your profitability.
Is it hard to run a coffee shop?
As with any small business, running a coffee shop isn’t free from challenges. You could face unpredictable hours, intense competition or even difficult customers. Keeping on top of all these features is key to your success. Once you master them, you should find it easier to run your new coffee shop.
What licences do I need to run a sandwich bar?
There are a handful of licences you may need to run your sandwich bar, including:
- Food business registration
- Premises licence
- Food hygiene certificate
While they aren’t licences, you should also have employers’ and public liability insurance to protect staff and customers from accidental damage.