After years of experience of helping people buy businesses and sell businesses, 51-year-old accountant Andy Daniel decided it was time to buy his own.
He wanted something to set up for his retirement, so he could take things a little easier without giving up work altogether.
I also want to move into a more home-based environment and I thought that an art shop or gallery would allow me to do this
Andy Daniel, online art gallery buyer
It just so happened that Andy had a passion for photography and art, and running an art gallery is among the more laid-back fields of entrepreneurship.
“The art business is something for later in life,” says Andy, who still works as an accountant during the day. “My work at the moment is very hectic and in the future I want to slow down a bit.
Home environment
“I also want to work from home and I thought that an art shop or gallery would allow me to do this.”
Andy spends a lot of time on BusinessesForSale.com looking for businesses for his clients, and he used it again when looking for his own. He wanted somewhere near his hometown of Nantwich in Cheshire, and eventually found a framing gallery in Chester.
He entered six months of negotiation over the sale but the gallery’s turnover dropped significantly during that time, and that, combined with one or two other things that weren’t quite right, led him to pull out, despite going to contract.
During negotiations, Andy had seen an online gallery which he thought would complement a traditional gallery well. But after the deal in Chester fell through, he decided that the website, called the Wallspace Gallery, would suit his needs on its own.
“When I saw the website on BusinessesForSale.com, I thought that would be a much better option for me,” he recalls. “It would be a slower start; I could take my time over it. It was cheaper than buying an actual art gallery and would also be less work.”
It was also easier to relocate, even though the previous owner was based in Berkshire. “We ended up driving a van full of stock from Slough to my house in Nantwich. There were 128 paintings in all — and most of them were framed.”
Andy did a lot of research before going ahead with the purchase. “The owner sent us a list of his stock and we spent a lot of time looking at other art sites, comparing prices and making sure we could sell the stock for the prices that were recommended,” he says.
“We did most of our research on the internet, finding out how well known the artists were, and what the sale prices were for similar products on other sites.”
It took four months of careful assessment and negotiation before the deal was finally completed. The research was worthwhile, as Andy re-evaluated the company and bartered the price down from £20k to £9k.
