1/3/2019 | Retail

New owners for Cawston Costcutter & Post Office found

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of Cawston Costcutter and Post Office, located in the village of Cawston in Norfolk, to an experienced husband and wife operator team, with funding secured through specialist commercial finance broker, Christie Finance.



The store provides fresh, chilled and frozen groceries, an off licence, newspapers and magazines, confectionery, cigarettes, stationery, greetings cards, hardware, pharmacy products and hot food to go. It also offers National Lottery, PayPoint and post office services. 

The business holds a prominent position within the local community, being the only store in the village and servicing a number of villages nearby. Located approximately ten miles from Norwich and 15 miles from Kings Lynn, Cawston is a thriving central Norfolk village with a primary school, social club and sports fields. 

Previous owner, Steve Parsons decided to retire after 15 years of running the business. He comments, “I've had a close business relationship with Melvyn for a number of years, and he has kept me regularly up to date with the retail market over and sold several stores I knew of nearby. That was testimony enough for me to ask him to handle the sale. We successfully sold the store within a few months of beginning the marketing process and had interest from a number of parties. I would like to thank Melvyn for all his assistance with the sale and wish the new owners the best of luck for the future.”

New owners, Mr & Mrs Sanga are relocating from Leicester, where they previously operated their own convenience store. The Sanga family are enthusiastic and excited to establish themselves in the village and serve the local customers after transferring to the Londis symbol group, undertaking a minor refit and relaunching the store with a fresh approach.

John Mitchell, Head of Business Mortgages at Christie Finance comments, “It’s been a pleasure working with the Sanga family in securing funding for the purchase of Cawston Costcutter & Post Office. We worked closely with our Christie & Co colleague Melvyn Eke to ensure the Sanga family were supported at every stage of the buying process. I wish them the best of luck in running Cawston Post Office.” 

Melvyn Eke, Associate Director at Christie & Co handled the sale and comments, “We had strong levels of interest which preceded several viewings and offers. Being an unopposed freehold store with an excellent historic performance, the levels of interest were not surprising. The store also benefits from on site owners' accommodation, which is becoming increasingly unusual in East Anglia.”

The business was sold off an asking price of £650,000 for the freehold interest.