Buying a Boarding Kennels/Cattery Business - Guidance For Buyers

Decide what you want

When buying a property, doing your homework is extremely important. You are buying with your wallet, so buy for financial reasons, do not let your heart take over. What is it that you want to buy and for what reasons? Visit ten facilities around you, pay attention to the construction, style and condition. Having found a style that you like, try to find the price of the kennels ‘as new’ for comparisons to work with.

Consider the location: do you have connections, family, relatives and friends nearby? Are you happy with the location, giving consideration to both plus and negative points? Good catchment areas are expanding and developing residential areas, with pleasant surroundings.  Avoid dying areas with noticeable decaying in the locality, flight paths, proposed by-passes, pylons, sewage treatment plants, railway lines, landfill sites and areas liable to flooding. Check the type of land and drainage, agricultural fields with crops, livestock or possible treatments that can give concerns for allergies, smells and noise.

Any competitors in the area need to be checked out including the quality of facilities, service and fees. They are your competition, and no matter how good or bad they are, you are hopefully going to be better! The accounts are all – important – it is upon these the business will be assessed by accountants and bank managers. Having considered all these points (good and bad), what is the property worth to you? Bear in mind there are possibly far more potential purchasers considering this property than you might imagine, and that one day you will also want to sell the property to someone going through the same thought process as you are. Find an independent financial adviser who will give independent advice, preferably with kennel-financing experience.

We’re here for the long term

A number of purchasers come to our office/kennels and cattery just to talk about the nature of the business. Intending purchasers have had work experience before buying their kennels. We talk with purchasers of kennels about setting up kennels, and also purchasers (who have been unable to find their ideal kennels) about starting one up from scratch. Customers (not always buying through ourselves) talk to us about the best ways of expanding, modernising or replacing their facilities.

We have even visited owners thinking about selling, shown them where they are going wrong (giving themselves more work than necessary), talked them out of selling by showing them how to run their facility more efficiently. They spread the word, and we shall get the property on our books one day!

Upon completion I say to most purchasers: we are still here if they want to talk about anything to do with kennels or a cattery, where to buy things, how to deal with certain circumstances, just phone us, and even if we can’t help you we probably know someone who can.

In February 2015 we will be celebrating 30 years of selling kennels and cattery businesses. We would like to sincerely thank our customers for their help, encouragement and many recommendations, making us the largest specialist agency selling kennels and catteries. So not only will you have the services of the largest specialist agency, on a ‘No Sale No Fee’ basis a non-restrictive contract.