Simon the beekeeper closing down sale

[Somerford]

Has anyone thought of talking with them about being able to buy and continue their business? Sounds as if it was a good resource for many of you.

I must admit I’m surprised he hasn’t offered it for sale

I also saw Bee Equipment was for sale too but can’t find the link now

 

[Ian123]

I must admit I’m surprised he hasn’t offered it for sale

I also saw Bee Equipment was for sale too but can’t find the link now

Renowned Beekeeping Equipment Business for Sale​

Kent, England
Seller Ref:INT2150

• Price: £560,000
• Annual Net Profit: £139,342
• Annual Turnover: £1,688,197

Overview​

Seller Ref: INT2150

• Ecommerce / Website / Online Based Retail Businesses
• Business Type

Description​

For sale is a highly successful and renowned business specialising in retailing beekeeping equipment. Offered on a fully relocatable basis, the business boasts an excellent reputation and a large variety of related products and services.
The business supplies everything a beekeeper needs from hive-kits and clothing to feeds and treatments. If you are just starting out, or you are a seasoned beekeeper, this business has it all.
Now the second-largest supplier of such equipment in the UK, the business made real impact by disrupting the existing trade in this specialist market. Retailing through their easy to navigate, e-commerce website, they have also branched into the development and manufacture of own-brand products – providing unique designs exclusively for their shoppers.
They have also created and run their own bee-centric events, providing a space for like-minded people to come together to add to their beekeeping knowledge as well as to provide an innovative way for them to promote and sell their products.
This acquisition would be ideal for someone interested in a similar sector and looking to purchase a well-established business.

Number of Employees:​

20

Is this business relocatable:​

Yes

Is this business home based:​

No

Is accommodation included:​

No

Website address:​

https://www.intelligent.co.uk/busin...eekeeping-equipment-business-for-sale-int2150

 

[deemann1]

Thats a pity there new suit looked good

 

[JamezF]

We are all notorious for waiting until the sales come along and buying up consumables for the season at the best prices.

I'm as guilty of doing this as anyone and I'm grateful to be able to do so. I even go to the lengths of writing a list of things I could do with but don't want to pay full price for and will wait for in the next sale. However, the logic of offering consumables on sale is one that I'm not sure I understand unless it's as a "loss leader" or there's a need to get them off the books. Frames are always going to sell, for example, so why not hang onto them until they do? Or is there some deal whereby it's cheaper to buy frames at some given volume even if you can't sell all of them, so it's better to over-order and knock out what you can cheaply if they don't sell before you need to take delivery of the next lot?

Comparing with one of my other hobbies, which again is a small hobbyist market with relatively few well-known UK suppliers, sales generally only happen when the manufacturer is offering a promotion or if there's old or refurbished stock to get rid of.

James

 

[Ian123]

I'm as guilty of doing this as anyone and I'm grateful to be able to do so. I even go to the lengths of writing a list of things I could do with but don't want to pay full price for and will wait for in the next sale. However, the logic of offering consumables on sale is one that I'm not sure I understand unless it's as a "loss leader" or there's a need to get them off the books. Frames are always going to sell, for example, so why not hang onto them until they do? Or is there some deal whereby it's cheaper to buy frames at some given volume even if you can't sell all of them, so it's better to over-order and knock out what you can cheaply if they don't sell before you need to take delivery of the next lot?

Comparing with one of my other hobbies, which again is a small hobbyist market with relatively few well-known UK suppliers, sales generally only happen when the manufacturer is offering a promotion or if there's old or refurbished stock to get rid of.

James

The sales are not really sales, there’s often some cheap crap brought in but the main items we are after like frames and hive parts are manufactured from cheaper grade timber for the events. So in truth they’re not even seconds. In fairness I wonder why any would buy first grade boxes/frames.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Renowned Beekeeping Equipment Business for Sale​

Kent, England
Seller Ref:INT2150

• Price: £560,000
• Annual Net Profit: £139,342
• Annual Turnover: £1,688,197

Overview​

Seller Ref: INT2150

• Ecommerce / Website / Online Based Retail Businesses
• Business Type

Description​

For sale is a highly successful and renowned business specialising in retailing beekeeping equipment. Offered on a fully relocatable basis, the business boasts an excellent reputation and a large variety of related products and services.
The business supplies everything a beekeeper needs from hive-kits and clothing to feeds and treatments. If you are just starting out, or you are a seasoned beekeeper, this business has it all.
Now the second-largest supplier of such equipment in the UK, the business made real impact by disrupting the existing trade in this specialist market. Retailing through their easy to navigate, e-commerce website, they have also branched into the development and manufacture of own-brand products – providing unique designs exclusively for their shoppers.
They have also created and run their own bee-centric events, providing a space for like-minded people to come together to add to their beekeeping knowledge as well as to provide an innovative way for them to promote and sell their products.
This acquisition would be ideal for someone interested in a similar sector and looking to purchase a well-established business.

Number of Employees:​

20

Is this business relocatable:​

Yes

Is this business home based:​

No

Is accommodation included:​

No

Website address:​

https://www.intelligent.co.uk/busin...eekeeping-equipment-business-for-sale-int2150

Errr am I being thick....is this Patrick?

 

[Ian123]

Errr am I being thick....is this Patrick?

Could be!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Errr am I being thick....is this Patrick?

Unless there are two beekeeping supply companies based in Kent of a similar size I think it probably is .

Expired link

EDIT - The above was a link to BE’s accounts posted at companies house. It appears the link has now expired.

 

[pargyle]

Errr am I being thick....is this Patrick?

If a turnover of £1.6m is the second largest beekeeping supply house in the uK it gives you some idea of the market size for general hee supplies. 8.3% nett is not bad for what is effectively a retail busiiness but it's priced low for a going concern sale ... I'd expect seven times nett not four times for a thriving and growing business.

 

[Jules59]

A great shame. I got most of my supplies from StB - only 20 minutes drive away, so I would collect from their premises when Aldi shopping in Nuneaton.
Not sure who I will go to next .

 

[Wilco]

If a turnover of £1.6m is the second largest beekeeping supply house in the uK it gives you some idea of the market size for general hee supplies. 8.3% nett is not bad for what is effectively a retail busiiness but it's priced low for a going concern sale ... I'd expect seven times nett not four times for a thriving and growing business.

For a while I've wondered if Patrick is ill. He went from being involved on here a year ago to very quiet.

 

[TwoHiveNovice]

I wouldn't imagine it's an easy business and from my experience STB has always been excellent. Maybe its a matter of quitting whilst I'm ahead and enjoying retirement. Let's be honest, people's pockets are being squeezed and I'm sure this will be more noticeable this year when rising day to day costs eventually catch up and people really do start cutting back on their non essential spending.

I say good luck, congratulations on the success to date and look forward to hopefully enjoying a stress free life ahead

 

[polymath]

Looks like the web site has closed down already.

James

no just time's out a lot it has taken me 24 hrs to build up the order i want.

 

[polymath]

Finally managed to place my order long haul and on some stuff they advertise honey buckets from £2 but only have big ones available when you click through.

 

[Wilco]

Finally managed to place my order long haul and on some stuff they advertise honey buckets from £2 but only have big ones available when you click through.

Sadly the 10L ones have been out of stock for months.

 

[BBC]

There's a saying in beekeeping- if you want to make a small fortune .... start with a large one

This statement should be included in the introduction course and introductions generally as a standard. Most of us are hobbyists anyway, but starting year three and still spending. I was advised in the intro course that costs of circa 1k should be expected with occasional sundries thereafter.
I seriously wonder whether this is the initial reason for us newbees leaving early.

The above must be the single most important reason for the seconds line of equipment.

For those with beek businesses. Is there any mileage in reducing costs of firsts to achieve a greater volume of sales across the board.

Just had a sneak at the drop boards and the OA seems to have hit the wee beasties hard

 

[pargyle]

Finally managed to place my order long haul and on some stuff they advertise honey buckets from £2 but only have big ones available when you click through.

The website is painfully slow ... I suspect that every beekeeper in the UK that knows about Simon is on there browsing .. not much that I really need but I'm picking up a small size suit for my grandson who has grown out of the last xs one. If there are any ;eft by the time I get to pay for it ....

 

[ldwgs]

Looks like the web site has closed down already.

James

No just managed to order a few bits, took ages though web site very slow

 

[ldwgs]

Beekeeping supply is a niche market and you are mainly trading with hobbyists and smaller scale beefarmers .. The UK customer base is probably in the region of 50,000 beekeepers - once you have a hive they tend to last for years so you are looking at only expansion purchases, consumables and small equipment.

We are all notorious for waiting until the sales come along and buying up consumables for the season at the best prices. It's a fairly crowded market in the UK with four or five major genera; suppliers basically competing on selling the same (or equivalent) products. A lot of equipment suppliers deal direct with the end user and the really big beefarmers have the buying power to bypass the general merchants. There are then some secondary suppliers - often beekeepers adding to their beekeeping income by selling specific beekeeping products (like beesuits) to provide some incremental revenue.

Simon obviously had an incremental business shipping to Europe but that has become more problematical since we left the EU and the costs of shipping have gone through the roof lately - indeed, some carriers are being very selective about where they will actually deliver to !

There's a saying in beekeeping- if you want to make a small fortune .... start with a large one.

I would not be tempted to step into Simon's shoes at present.

Parks in London closed a 2 years ago I was in there when a delivery came and he was told he had to pay almost £200 and if he refused delivery they would just return to him again with it will fee to be added daily! He told me as most kot came from europe and he didn't think adding additional cost to customers would be right he was giving up. closed 1 month later

 

[blackcloud]

No guilt whatsoever in focussing orders on the sales -if it was detrimental they wouldn't host them.
Its an offloading event and they are certainly not the underdog in the arrangement
In fact BE in particular seem to follow the DFS business model where you have one or two weeks a year with no sale prices on offer.