Why You Should Buy Your Restaurant Before 2017

This month sees a whole range of new openings across the Capital.  And it’s fantastic to see the breadth of experiences on offer: from a third location for New York-inspired group Dirty Bones in Shoreditch, housed in a Grade II-listed heritage building, to the exquisite pan-Asian restaurant group Tootoomoo opening its fourth site in Islington.

If you are thinking of expanding your group to a new site in London, or you’re ready to take a first step into the London restaurant arena, here are 3 reasons you should do it before 2017.

1. Brexit uncertainty

As we wrote following Britain’s decision for Brexit, this result, which had been in the balance for so long, has been settled.

We speculated that this would allow the market to plan for the future after a period of instability and that agents who had been holding back until a decision came, one way or the other, could act in numbers, leading to a spread of sales in the city causing increase in revenue in the sector.

It looks like this has been exactly what has happened. Takings were up in July — a robust 2.9 per cent increase on last year in London compared with a 0.5 per cent drop outside the M25, the data shows.

The fall in the pound’s value following the referendum has had a positive impact on foreign tourism into London, with summer 2016 seeming like a record-breaker. In other words, now is as good a time as any to expand or start your business.

2. Low interest rates

The Bank of England has in recent years showed dovish tendencies, lowering interest rates after the 2008 financial crisis and giving the go-ahead to electronic money creation to buy bank bonds, known as quantitative easing – i.e. printing money. Just recently, the rate was once again cut to 0.25%, and could – wait for it – be slashed again to just 0.1% by the end of this year. The aim has been to get businesses and investors to invest, so now is the time to do it.

Now that market stability is looking to be restored, low interest rates should provide greater returns to restaurateurs that act in the next few months. The glass is currently half full with respect to investment potential.

3. Business rates revaluation

According to this article in the FT, tens of thousands of London rate-paying businesses are braced for sharply bigger bills with the release of new property valuations on Friday, in a change that will see a significant redistribution of the business rates.

While London retailers are predicted to be the hardest hit, many restaurateurs are expected to be impacted, too. This means that moving to a less expensive premises now could save you serious money in the long run.

Our restaurant and hospitality property experts know how to read the markets to ensure you are buying (or selling) your property at the optimum time.

Why not speak with one of them today to learn more.

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