Yes. A salon that is losing money can still sell, but buyers price it on what they are getting physically, the fit-out, the lease and the clients in the book, rather than on profit.
Plenty of salons sell without a profit to show. The buyers are often stylists or therapists ready to go self-employed, or an existing owner who wants a second site, and for them a finished salon on a reasonable lease is quicker and cheaper than fitting out an empty unit.
What sets the price
- The cost and condition of the fit-out, and what it would cost a buyer to do the same from scratch.
- The lease: the rent, how long is left and whether the landlord is happy to assign it.
- The clients and the team who would stay, which is what turns an empty shop into a working business on day one.
Explain the loss
If the loss has a clear reason, such as an owner on maternity leave, a refurbishment or a stylist who left and took clients, say so and show the months before it. Buyers are more comfortable with a loss they can understand than a profit they cannot.