Le Café Coull is an attractive ground floor trading unit, set in a most prominent operating location within the popular coastal town of Buckie. The building, has an attractive façade with fully glazed frontage offering excellent signage options.
Set centrally within the town, the business aspects are easily located and ideally positioned to take advantage of the many locals who visit the town and the influx of tourists over the summer months.
This attractively furnished and modern café opened in 2011 and is presented to the market as a turn key operation, with modern facilities throughout. The property is beautifully appointed with modern décor offering 54 covers comfortably. The trading aspects provide a wonderful ambience, tastefully decorated with a range of fitted and free-standing tables and benched seating.
The service areas are well-equipped to provide quality food provision and to support a highly frequented modern café. This attractive and affordable going concern, offers a simple and profitable trading opportunity which would perfectly suit new hands-on owner/operators.
TRADE - Le Café Coull is an established business, trading since 2011 with a fantastic reputation locally. The business offers a year-round trading platform and currently opens 7 days a week, Mon-Thurs 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 7pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sundays 10am to 5pm.
The business has a consistently high turnover, producing an attractive net profit. Currently offering a range of breakfasts, lunches with daily specials and freshly baked goods, a takeaway menu is also available. The café has undoubted potential to further extend opening hours offering evening meals should a new owner so wish.
REASON FOR SALE - The current owner purchased the property in 2011 and has worked tirelessly to bring the business up to its current standard. It is now a genuine desire to reduce work commitments that brings this highly attractive business opportunity to the market.
Location
The traditional fishing town of Buckie dates back to the 1400s and sits on the edge of a historical harbour. Featuring attractive sandy beaches and rock pools, the village offers an ideal base to explore the North East of Scotland either by car or on foot along the coastal walk or nearby Speyside Way. Ideally situated close to the A98, both Inverness and Aberdeen can be accessed in about an hour and a half’s drive, there is ample rail and bus links. Other towns and centres located close by include Banff, Fochabers, Elgin as well as also being a short drive from world-class fishing on the River Spey, superb golf courses and the Whisky Trail with several well-known brands and world class whisky distilleries located close by. Buckie has grown in recent years with significant house building on the outskirts. Both primary and secondary schooling is available as well as a busy High Street offering a variety of shops, pubs and restaurants. Ornithologists and naturalists are not short of interests here including bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth, the scenic north east coast has always been a popular tourist destination whether as a convenient base to explore numerous distilleries or to visit archaeological sites and historic castles.
Accommodation
THE PROPERTY - Of traditional stone construction, under a pitched slate roof, the property is an attractive ground floor trading unit in a typical high street setting. To the rear of the property is an area of shared ground, with access to the rear through a delivery door. There is an external shed which is used for overspill dry goods storage. There is on road car parking directly outside the business plus public ample public car parks just a couple of minutes’ walk.
PUBLIC AREAS - With attractive fully glazed shop frontage, offering excellent signage options, customer access to the trading elements is off the pavement to the front through a glazed door. Once inside the cafe, there is a mix of free-standing wooden tables and chairs plus benched seating, all attractively spaced out, offering 54 covers. To the rear of the customer area is a service counter with attractive glazed servery and a range of chillers and display cabinets. The counter has a bean to cup coffee machine, hot water boiler and EPOS till system. There are good quality ladies’, gents’ and disabled wash rooms, with baby changing facilities and dyson hand dryers, meeting modern specifications. The café is finished to a high standard throughout making this a walk-in business opportunity with no significant capital expenditure required by new owners.
SERVICE AREAS - A most attractive feature of the sale is the excellent commercial kitchen located to the rear of the service counter, offering ease of food preparation and service.
The well-appointed kitchen is modern with stainless steel worktops and includes a range of appliances including a commercial gas cooker, double fryer, double panini grill, two soup kettles, refrigerated aisle workstation with storage, 2 commercial microwaves, 2 large fridges and 2 large freezers, pot wash area and dishwasher.
There is ample storage throughout this area; additionally, there is a large store cupboard adjacent to the washrooms.
OWNERS / STAFF ACCOMMODATION - There is no owner’s accommodation allocated within this property.
Terms
LICENSE - The business does not have a license in accordance with The Licensing Scotland Act 2005. However, this is an area of trade that could be explored subject to the necessary consents.
SERVICES - The business benefits from mains gas, electricity, water and drainage. The café has gas central heating.
The property was renovated in 2011 when it was fully rewired, with upgrades including a new boiler in 2017. The property is fire safety and EHO compliant.
RATES - The rateable value of Le Cafe Coull is £10,000 (effective from 01 Apr 2017) and benefits from a Small Business Bonus Scheme 100% discount resulting in a net payment liability of £Zero.
ACCOUNTS - Full trading accounts will be made available to seriously interested parties subsequent to viewing.
EPC RATING - The business has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of ‘E’.
PRICE - Offers over £220,000 are invited for the heritable property complete with trade contents (according to inventory), excluding personal items. Stock at valuation.
Specification
- Modern and well-appointed cafe business in the popular coastal town of Buckie
- Prominently positioned and easily accessed operation, close to other amenities and within a high street setting
- Tastefully decorated providing a lovely ambience, offering 54 covers and serving a range of menu options
- Excellent customer areas plus well-appointed service facilities and modern guest washrooms
- A simple and profitable trading model ideally suited to first-time buyers looking for a hands-on role