Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has completed on the sale of a One-Stop branded convenience store in the village of Earlston, in the Scottish Borders.
This well-established licensed premise operates at the heart of the local community. The business benefits from significant investment from the previous owners in recent years. The store offers chilled foods, everyday groceries, chilled drinks, alcohol and magazines. The dormant Post Office combi-counter is also available to be re-introduced.
The store is located in a village just off Earlston’s impressive main street, which runs east from a junction with the A68, and benefits from travellers making their way north towards Edinburgh or south towards Jedburgh and the English border beyond. The only other shop in the village is a Co-op store, so there is great opportunity for this prominently located value shop.
The site was previously owned by local retailers, Tariq, Mahboob and Faizan Messrs, who are well known in the community. They decided to sell the store in order to pursue other business interests.
The new owner, 25-year-old Kimberly McIntyre, is experienced in the retail sector, having most recently operated two forecourts under licence in Glasgow for a national company. She has plans to re-brand the convenience shop as a Premier store, refit a better interior selection and offer an expansion of new foods to go.
This is Miss McIntyre’s second shop acquisition through Christie & Co in just over a year, as she purchased a ‘Spar’ branded convenience store in Oakley at the end of 2018.
Daniel Arrandale, Director of Retail at Christie & Co, who brokered the sale, comments, “I am delighted Kimberly has acquired her second store and that Christie & Co have been part of her journey. Since acquiring the Oakley store in 2018, Kimberly has increased sales by over 70 per cent, a reflection of her determination and retailing ability. This was an outstanding uptake considering Oakley had three other convenience stores nearby. Within Earlston, the picture is less competitive, with only a dominant local Co-op, but we fully expect Kimberly to achieve similar, if not better, success than her first.”