Help

Welcome to the Christie + Co website. Our site enables you to find out about our wide range of services and activities, and view Europe’s premier database of specialist businesses for sale in the UK and internationally, both easily and quickly.

We hope our website will be useful to you and that you find businesses and information that meet your requirements. The site was launched in July 1999 and we maintain it on a daily basis by adding new businesses and both removing and making amendments to existing ones. We also make continual improvements to the site to make it easier and more beneficial to use.

If you have any comments on our site, please do not hesitate to let us know by e-mailing us on feedback@christie.com

Accessing the Site

You can use our site as either a registered or unregistered user. As a registered user you have access to all the features of the site, especially:

Full Business Details
New Businesses For Sale Alert
The Christie + Co E-mail Directory

To register, click on "Register" and complete the application form on screen. You will be shown your ID number on screen and a confirmation e-mail will be sent to you. This e-mail includes a link to the log-in page. Click on the link and enter your e-mail address and ID number. You will then be able to access the site as a registered user. You only need to go through this process once. Thereafter, you can login via any page on the site.

During registration, you will be asked to agree to Christie + Co's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. These will appear on screen.

Although you will not be able to access the site as a registered user until you have activated the link in the confirmation e-mail, you are (in the meantime) able to use it as an unregistered user.

Please note:

The ID number you receive is only applicable to the e-mail address under which you register. You can access the site using any computer but please remember to use both your ID number and the e-mail address associated with it, no matter which computer you are using.
Please treat your ID number as confidential and do not pass it on to anyone else.
If you enter the site as an unregistered user, there are plenty of opportunities to register.
Cookies. To use our website it is important that "cookies" are enabled in the settings of your internet browser. Depending upon which browser you use, these settings are generally found under the Tools and/or Internet Options headings, please see below for further information.

Check that cookies are enabled:

With Internet Explorer 7 - Click Start and select Control Panel. (Windows XP Classic View - click on Windows Start button and select Settings and Control Panel). Double-click the Internet Options icon. Select the Privacy tab. Under Settings, click Advanced button. Check the box Override automatic cookie handling under Cookies section in Advanced Privacy Settings window. Under First-party Cookies, select Accept. Under Third-party Cookies, select Accept. Check the box Always allow session cookies. Click OK. Click OK to exit.

With Internet Explorer 6 - Tools/Internet Options/Privacy tab - Click it. Make sure the slider in the main part is set to 'Medium High' or 'Medium'. Attempt to login again.

If that still doesn't work, then you can add our website as a special case. Tools/Internet Options/Privacy tab/Websites (towards the bottom)/Edit/Address of the Website
Enter christie.com then click 'Allow' - the box below should now show christie.com

Always Allow
Click "OK" - Attempt to login again.

With Internet Explorer 5 - Tools/Internet options/Security tab/Internet zone/Custom level. Scroll to Cookies, "enable" both options

With Internet Explorer 4 - View/Internet options/Advanced tab. Scroll to Security section. Under Cookies, "always accept cookies"
on your computer. This, I hope, will sort out the problem regarding access to the website. If not, please e-mail feedback@christie.com with as much detail as you can about the hardware and software you are using, including version numbers, so that we can investigate further.

Browser Cache

If you experience problems with the individual pages and/or photographs, please try emptying your browser cache. On Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options. Under the General main heading, select the section called Temporary Internet Files. Click on Delete files, then OK. Also, with Explorer open, press Ctrl and the F5 button at top of the keyboard, this will do an absolute refresh of Explorer. Finally, restart your computer.

Home Page

The Home Page includes buttons relating to various sections of the site. Some of these are information sections - eg:

OUR MARKET SECTORS
RECENT ACTIVITY
TESTIMONIALS
SOME MAJOR INSTRUCTIONS
LICENSED STOCKTAKING
RETAIL STOCKTAKING
BUYING A BUSINESS
VALUATION SERVICES
CONSULTANCY
HELP
DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD
CHRISTIE GROUP
ABOUT US
PUBLICATIONS
CONTACT US - OFFICES
SITEMAP
TERMS & CONDITIONS
PRIVACY POLICY
ACCESSIBILITY

Please use these sections to find information about Christie + Co and the way we work. These sections also include information about other companies within Christie Group plc. Some of these sections allow you to send e-mails to the addresses listed or access some of our associated companies' websites.

Some sections of the site are inter-active - eg:

SEARCH BUSINESSES FOR SALE
BUSINESSES RECENTLY SOLD
MY SAVED BUSINESSES FOR SALE
NEW BUSINESSES FOR SALE ALERT
SELLING A BUSINESS
RATING
RENT REVIEWS
RECRUITMENT
MY ACCOUNT
NEWS
SHOP
CONTACT US - FEEDBACK
CONTACT US - E-MAIL
LOGIN / REGISTER
FORGOTTEN ID
E-MAIL A FRIEND
ADD TO MY FAVOURITES

The most important of these are the SEARCH BUSINESSES FOR SALE and NEW BUSINESSES FOR SALE ALERT facilities.

Search Businesses for Sale

To make a search, click on the “SEARCH BUSINESSES FOR SALE” button. This will take you to a screen, which enables you to search our database of businesses according to the criteria you select. You can select criteria relating to the following:

Geography (ie: Country group, Country, Region - and additionally for UK properties only - Town/City. There is also a map to help you when searching for businesses in the UK).
Market sector
Tenure
Price/Currency

If you make a mistake at any point in selecting your criteria, please click on “CLEAR” and start again.

You can also use the optional KEYWORD function to refine your search. Type in here any one word or phrase that might appear in the brief details we have created to describe a business. The KEYWORD function enables you to find the details of those businesses that include the word/phrase you choose eg: town centre, rural, seafront, coffee shop, Cotswolds, country house hotel, etc.

Once you have set your search criteria, click on “SEARCH”. (NB: Scroll down to the bottom of the Businesses For Sale Search page to find the “SEARCH” and “CLEAR” buttons). A summary of the businesses found on our database appears, as does the number of matches that have been made. At this point only very brief details of the businesses concerned are displayed (on pages of 10).

If your search results include businesses which are Under Offer, you can register your interest in the business on the Full Details section so that the Negotiator handling the sale can contact you if the current offer falls through.

To obtain further details of any business that interests you, click on “VIEW BRIEF DETAILS” (or “VIEW FULL DETAILS”) next to that business.

Where possible, a photo of the business concerned is shown together with the brief (or full) business information.

Towards the top of both Brief Details and Full Details there is a Christie Finance and a Christie Insurance logo each of which, when clicked, displays information about some of the services available from these sister companies.

On both Brief Details and Full Details there is a number of buttons. Please click on the one that interests you, for example:

“ARRANGE A VIEWING” will enable you to e-mail our Negotiator handling the property, to request an appointment to view.

“VIEW FULL DETAILS” takes you to the Full Details of the business concerned.

“VIEW BRIEF DETAILS” takes you to the Brief Details of the business concerned.

“MAKE AN ENQUIRY” enables you to send an e-mail to our Negotiator handling the sale of that particular business.

“GET FINANCE” takes you to details about Christie Finance, the only finance company recommended by Christie + Co, and an application form to apply for finance to help you purchase the business concerned.

“MAKE AN OFFER” takes you to a form to complete if you wish to make a formal offer to purchase the business concerned.

If, at any point in your use of the site, you find yourself in a page by mistake (for example) you can easily go back to the previous page by clicking on:

The “BACK” icon in the tool bar at the top of your monitor screen.
The “BACK” button when it appears on the site page.
The “PREVIOUS PROPERTY” button.

Searching by Corporate Sales

You can use this function to view businesses that are for sale on behalf of corporate clients. You can also use this option as one of your business search criteria to find, for example, corporate sales in a particular area or sector, or within a price band you specify. Each business offered for sale on the instructions of a corporate client is identified as such in the Full Details, and you can use the additional buttons on the screen to:

Select the businesses that are attached to an instruction/corporate client and which are both listed on the site and match your search criteria.
Select all the businesses that are both attached to that instruction/corporate client and are listed on the site.

Searching by Reference Number

If you know the reference number of the business you are looking for, you can go straight to the business concerned by using the REF NUMBER function. Simply input the relevant reference number (i.e.: A two-digit office number followed by the individual property number - up to a maximum of 5 digits) and press “SEARCH”.

Please note: If we have quoted various letters etc in a reference number in our advertising (eg: 58/CA42348/HA1) these extra letters/numbers should be ignored. Simply input the basic number - 58/42348 in this case.

Businesses Recently Sold Facility

This is very similar to the Search Businesses For Sale function described above. It enables you to search our database of recently sold businesses according to the criteria you select (see description above).

New Businesses For Sale Alert and Saved Businesses

One of the special features of our site is that you can set up your own SAVED SEARCHES and SAVED BUSINESSES - a list of businesses that are of particular interest to you according to criteria you select. You will receive New Businesses For Sale Alert e-mails detailing both new businesses and price updates relating to existing ones (that match your criteria) as and when they become available. To stop receiving these e-mails, go to MY SAVED SEARCHES and click on REMOVE next to each entry on that page.

To set up a list of MY SAVED BUSINESSES FOR SALE, first make a Businesses For Sale Search. This will produce a list of SEARCH RESULTS. Click on the “ADD TO MY SAVED SEARCHES” button. You are then given the option of saving your search criteria and/or the businesses your search has found.

To check your list of saved businesses, click on the “MY SAVED BUSINESSES FOR SALE” button on the left-hand side of the screen. A list of all your current businesses appears and you can use the buttons (“ALL”, “VIEWED”, “NEW” and “UPDATED”) at the top of this section to view those businesses in each of these categories. You can view a business's details by clicking on either the “NEW” or “VIEWED” button next to the business concerned. You can also delete a business from your SAVED BUSINESSES by clicking on the “DELETE” button.

To check your SAVED SEARCHES, click on the “NEW BUSINESSES FOR SALE ALERT” button on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on the “MY SAVED SEARCHES” button to:

Check what sets of search criteria you have saved.
Set the number of days after which properties will be deleted from your SAVED BUSINESSES if you have not viewed them. To set this function, simply type in the number of days and click on “SAVE”. Confirm your entry by clicking on “OK”.
Remove a SAVED SEARCH (and the search criteria attached to it). When you do this you have a choice whether or not to delete the businesses in your list that were found as a result of the original search. Please note: when you delete the businesses that came with the original search, any businesses that you have subsequently manually added to your SAVED BUSINESSES will remain there, even though they match the criteria of the SAVED SEARCH you have just deleted. However, if you are not interested in any of these, you can delete them individually.

You can also add individual businesses to your SAVED BUSINESSES when you view either their Brief or Full Details. Use the “ADD TO MY SAVED BUSINESSES” button on the property details screen.

Buying a Business

Christie + Co has been helping people buy businesses since 1935. Buying a business can be quite an experience - full of various stages and options as you move from first having the idea to the culmination of your dream when you're at last handed the keys to the door.

With 17 UK offices and 12 international, our skilled Negotiators have an unrivalled knowledge of their local and national markets as well as a detailed understanding of current legislation. This section of the site provides information and guidance on how to buy a business in the European countries where we have offices.

Selling a Business

Your business is a valuable asset. We are the market leaders for selling businesses in our specialist sectors. We can market businesses effectively on a local, national and international basis to ensure that they achieve their full market value. Use this section to find out how much your business is worth by completing the form and e-mailing it to one of our regional offices. One of our staff will then contact you to discuss a free and confidential market appraisal.

Rating

This section includes some brief details about the current rating situation and also the facility to make a rating enquiry via the site. Click on the “RATING” button and this takes you to an introductory page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and, if you want to make a rating enquiry, click on “CONTINUE”. Complete the questionnaire giving your personal details and some information about your business. Click on “CONTINUE” and your details will be automatically e-mailed to our rating team. One of our team will contact you as soon as possible to either answer your enquiry or provide you with confidential advice.

Rent Reviews

This section includes some brief details about rents and also the facility to make a rent review enquiry via the site. Click on the “RENT REVIEWS” button and this takes you to an introductory page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and, if you want to make a rent review enquiry, click on “CONTINUE”. Complete the questionnaire giving your personal details and some information about your business. Click on “CONTINUE” and your details will be automatically e-mailed to our rent review team. One of our team will contact you as soon as possible to either answer your enquiry or provide you with confidential advice.

Contact Us - Feedback

Please use this facility to give us your feedback on the website. Please type your message in the boxes provided and click on "SEND" at the bottom of the screen. We will reply to your e-mail as soon as possible.

Contact Us - E-mail

Use this facility to either find the contact details of any of our staff listed, or to send an e-mail direct to them.

Input any of the details of the person you wish to search for (i.e. name, office and/or market sector) and click on “SEARCH”.

Once you have found the person you are looking for, click on their e-mail address (to send an e-mail) or their name or office to view further details.

Forgotten ID

If you are a registered user on our site and you have successfully logged in at least once before, we may be able to remind you of your ID number via e-mail.

Please type in your e-mail address in the box provided. This must be the e-mail address that we have on file for you. If this is no longer your e-mail address, please either call us on 01908 350588 between 9.00am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday or e-mail us on feedback@christie.com.

When we have found your details we can remind you of your ID number. We will do this via e-mail as soon as possible.

News

Ideal for journalists and anyone wanting to keep up-to-date with our latest news, the News section features press releases for up to 3 years. It includes the facility to search press releases by headline, reference number, keyword(s), status, region, county, market sector, type, Christie + Co contact and date.

Click on “LATEST” to produce a list of press releases issued during the last month. Click on “ARCHIVED” to produce a list of press releases issued between 1 and 12 months ago.

Click on “SEARCH” to search our database of press releases according to the criteria you select.

To see a specific press release, either call it up using its individual reference number or click on its title when it appears in any of the lists. Each press release includes the full text and an e-mail link to the relevant Christie + Co contact, together with a photo of the property, if one is available/appropriate. Press releases can be copied and pasted (e.g. into Word documents or e-mails) for you to forward on.

Publications

This section is a list and description of current Christie + Co publications. You can download a PDF copy of any of those listed by simply clicking on the PDF icon.

Recruitment

Use this section to find out about the current vacancies within Christie + Co. You can see all the posts listed by scrolling down the page. To apply, click on the e-mail link underneath the post advertised. This will take you to an e-mail and you can then send a message to the contact person and attach a copy of your CV.

My Account

Use this section of the site to keep your details up-to-date - for example, your personal information, postal address, ID number, e-mail address, etc. Please note that any changes you make will take effect immediately and, if you change your e-mail address, you will need to log on with your new e-mail address next time you use the site.

Document Download

This section of our website includes PDF copies of relevant documents published by outside organisations relating to the sectors in which Christie + Co operates.

Shop

This section enables you to place credit and debit card orders for certain Christie + Co products using secure links - in particular, the How to Buy a Business book. Ideal for first time buyers, this "valuable" book guides you through the various options and stages involved in buying a pub, restaurant, hotel, shop, care home or children’s day nursery.