LEASEHOLD FOR SALE: NORWAY STORES, ST IVES, CORNWALL.PRICE:£109,950 (S.A.V. IF REQUIRED)

CORNWALL : Cornwall is considered by many to be the UK’s premier holiday destination. The rocky grandeur of its coastline cliffs; the unbelievable blue of its seas edged with the white of its pounding surf;  the soft sand of its magnificent beaches; the timeless thatch and granite of its hidden hamlets sleeping the centuries away in the shadow of their ancient church; the quaint highways and byways and  the tiny fishing villages that have outgrown their original purpose to blossom into modern holiday centres; all this and more brings the visitor back again and again to the Cornish Riviera.

ST IVES: St Ives is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of this highly prized coastal county. Its maze of narrow cobbled streets gathered about its fishing harbour, the fine sand of its six coves, each with its own character, bring hordes of returning visitors to its charm and its beaches while the year-long indigenous population can be found from within the workers servicing its industries and those seeking retirement to an earlier age that was both gentle and stress-free. The clear, softness of its pure light have attracted generations of resident artists of all aspects to its 

 inspiration. Art galleries abound including the Cornish ancillary of the famous London art venue and known as ‘Tate, St Ives’, which together with the Barbara Hepworth museum, the Bernard Leach pottery, and other respected venues, provide an international aspect to our enviable reputation There are many restaurants to suit all tastes from those wanting the humble pasty and a saffron bun through ethnic diversity and morning-fresh fish to French cuisine. Similarly, all manner of accommodation can be found within the town from tent space through Bed and Breakfast accommodation to cottages, apartments, hotels both small, intimate and large, luxurious. There is a thriving youth theatre and an ‘events’ calendar that provides year-long interest running from ‘feast day’ in February  to the Arts Festival in September, and our ‘ beach bonfires’ while our Christmas and New Year celebrations are legendary, country-wide.

NORWAY STORES: This is a unique opportunity to purchase the leasehold of a famously unique corner shop but the purchasers will not only be buying a business but also a way of life. They must be prepared to enter fully into the St Ives community, the store being the hub of the local neighbourhood where the urge for profit while paramount in order that the business may continue, is tinged with respect for their central role in other people’s lives. The convenience store is positioned on the ‘flat’, on the edge of the commercial district, a minute’s easy walk away from the harbour, the Tate, St Ives, and the largest beach, Porthmeor, the ‘surfer’s beach, a fact reflected in its yearly rent.

The shop premises are positioned on the ground floor of a three story granite building in the form of a widening triangle, a ‘true ‘corner’ shop and the area above being let as flats.The store consist of three spaces, the ‘front of house’ display and selling area; a side store with a separate toilet and a rear store with wash basin facilities.

There are two display windows let into the walls which, at present, due to the internal requirement for chilled display, are used by artists and a local jewellery manufacturer. The business maintains a number of display units, for both chilled and frozen foods and alcoholic refreshment.

There has been a general retail store on this site since 1896 when the then tenant, according to the rates list of that year, paid ‘six guineas in rent per annum’ and a further one pound and nine ‘old’ pence for ‘the relief of the St Ives poor’. However, the configuration of the ‘protected’ display windows would suggest a history of an even greater age, certainly an earlier Victorian influence.Nowadays, we draw the core of our customer support from the surrounding residential area, including a ‘protected housing’ scheme operated by a local housing association. While many of these residents are elderly, equally, there is a mass of private permanent accommodation housing numbers of a younger generation in both family and other groups.

There is two blocks of luxury flats directly opposite the shop with a third within easy walking distance. Our trading style remains purposely ‘old-fashioned friendly’, a deliberate ploy to counter the plastic anonymity found in modern supermarkets and we unashamedly appeal to the nostalgia naturally inherent in the older customers who can remember the sight, sound and smell of the traditional corner shop.
So too, we trade on the ‘novelty factor’ in those too young to personally remember the experience of shopping with an independent family trader.We sell as many diverse items as we can find space for and though this means mainly food and drink, including fresh bread and vegetables, wines and spirits, milk and clotted cream (‘By Post’ too), essential medical supplies and morning newspapers are not forgotten and balls of string, playing cards, ‘penny chews’ (now 10p!!) and sewing kits all find room on our shelves.


All fresh food is Cornish and sourced locally

 

Present Financial Implications:   At present, the shop operates from 7.30am (8.00am Sunday) until 9.00pm, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks of the year, excepting only for Christmas Day and with greatly reduced hours on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

 The store is so designed and organised that for some six months of the year, customer care, restocking of shelves and security of exposed stock can be overseen by one operative with the addition of a further operative at times of high workload (large deliveries).  Thus, those staff employed year-long, total one full time, one twenty-five hour and two sixteen hour workers. The present partners have taken the positions of longest hours.  However, during those times of highest yield (public and summer holiday periods) fixed-term ‘seasonal staff’ are engaged in order to cope with the increased demand.       

The store is registered for VAT.

Gross takings, before VAT, have steadily increased over the seven years of present ownership from £290,000 per annum in 2003 to the last financial year’s total of £351,000 (Financial Year runs from May until April). Full audited accounts are available to those potential purchasers on the provision of proof of funds available.

5 years of a 7 year lease, with 3 yearly rent review

Current rent £9,000 per annum

Rent in 2011 will be £11,000 per annum

Rent review  in 2012

Other relevant facts:  We, the present owners, feel that we owe it to the culture of St Ives; to our loyal customers; to the work, time, thought and effort we, ourselves, have invested; and to history, to ensure that the tradition of Norway Store is carried forward.                                                                   

We would like to sell this business as ‘a going concern’ and for this shop to continue to operate as a true neighbourhood store.However, we feel that there premises in their unique position have great potential to serve the public in many other trade.
We have run out of years rather than come to the end of our ideas!

                                                                                                               J.R. and S.J. Allen

At present there is a small flat available for sale above the shop by separate treaty. Please contact  Berwick & Berwick, Tregenna Hill, St Ives.   Telephone: 01736 799090 for details

A non domestic energy performance certificate appropriate to these premises is available on purchase.





Question to : norwaystorestives@gmail.com