High-turnover fish & chip shop, Colchester parade

Key features

• £14,000–£16,000 weekly turnover
• Run entirely under management, closes 9.00pm latest
• Same ownership for 24 years, genuine retirement sale
• Offered freehold at £700,000 or new lease at £325,000
• Over 10,000 new homes under construction nearby

About this business

A long-established Colchester fish & chip takeaway and delivery business turning over £14,000 to £16,000 a week, run entirely under management and closing at 9.00pm latest. The same owner has held the business for 24 years and is now retiring, offering it freehold or on a new lease. With a university campus on the doorstep and over 10,000 new homes under construction in the neighbourhood, an owner-operator stepping in has a clear runway to push the takings further.

Trading figures

We have been informed by our client that the business turns over £14,000 to £16,000 a week, made up mostly of takeaway sales and deliveries through the usual platforms. The shop is run by staff and closes at 9.00pm latest, with no Sunday trading at all — which leaves obvious headroom for an owner-operator who is willing to extend the evening hours and open on a Sunday to grow what is already a very strong weekly take.

Trading hours

Monday to Saturday: lunch 11.30am – 2.30pm, evening 4.30pm – 9.00pm. Sunday: closed. The early-close evening shift and the closed Sunday both represent clear scope for additional trading, which will be evident on viewing.

Business premises

A well-established single-storey mid-terrace unit with a fully glazed frontage, double-door access and a full-width coloured fascia and canopy above. Inside, the sales shop is spacious and fully tiled, sitting under a spotlit ceiling with two ceiling fans, and is fronted by a wide stainless-steel-topped service counter. The counter encloses a 5-pan Mallison range — only three years old — with a large menu display mounted above it. A well-equipped cooking section sits to the side and runs through to a tiled preparation area fitted with a steel single sink and stainless-steel cladding. To the rear is a large yard used for deliveries and private parking, along with two garages currently used for wet and dry storage. A well-fitted and well-equipped shop with a good reputation.

Trade equipment

The headline item is a 5-pan Mallison range, only three years old and the heart of the cooking operation. Alongside it the inventory includes two digital tills, a two-door salad fridge, a three-door under-counter fridge, kebab machines, a two-pot bain-marie, a griddle, two microwave ovens, a fish keeper, two chest freezers, a fat extractor, a double-door fridge, a Bold chipper and a 56lb peeler. (The above items of equipment have not been tested by Rosens — buyers should commission an independent inspection.)

Accommodation

Lock-up shop — no residential accommodation is included in the sale.

Trading position

A long-standing pitch on a small local parade of five shops, sitting alongside a convenience store, hairdressers, pharmacy and estate agents, with lay-by parking directly outside the door. The university campus is in close proximity and brings a substantial student presence, on top of a good-sized local resident population. That catchment is set to grow significantly with the construction of over 10,000 new homes within the neighbourhood — a generational shift in the size of the customer base on this shop's doorstep.

Special remarks

Our client has owned and built this business over the past 24 years and is now retiring, opening the way for more go-ahead new ownership to take direct control. The takings are already strong at £14,000 to £16,000 a week under full management, with the obvious levers — later evening hours and Sunday trading — still untouched. Add the 10,000 new homes being built within the catchment and the standing university trade, and the future for this shop looks unusually well-supported. A rare freehold or leasehold opportunity within a fast-growing community.