Selling usually leaves you better off than closing, even at a modest price. Closing can leave you paying rent until the lease ends, repair costs under the lease and redundancy pay, while a sale passes those to a buyer.
Owners thinking of closing often assume the salon is not worth selling. But a closed salon still has a lease with rent to pay, and many leases require the premises to be returned to their original condition, which can mean paying to strip out the fit-out.
What closing can cost
- Rent and service charge until the lease ends or the landlord agrees a surrender.
- Dilapidations: the cost of repairs and reinstatement the lease requires.
- Statutory redundancy pay for employees with two or more years’ service.
- Equipment sold for a fraction of its value.
What a sale does
A buyer takes on the lease, the staff and the equipment, and pays you for the clients and the convenience of a working salon. Even a sale at little more than the value of the fit-out can be worth thousands more than closing. It costs nothing to find out what yours would fetch.