Life as an independent retailer certainly isn’t always plain sailing and it wouldn’t be the first career choice for anyone wanting a quiet life. Preparing for your retirement, then, is an opportunity to secure your future, plan for a less stressful next stage of life and – vitally – catch up on all those hours of sleep.
“Having clarity about your retirement, how you are going to get there and what your financial situation will be is both good for your mental health and giving your family a sense of security,” explains Sarj Patel, who owns and runs Pasture Lane Stores in Sutton Bonnington, Leicestershire.
A successful plan is not something that can be executed in a matter of weeks, however, and Patel says retailers should be ready for years of preparation.
“If you choose to sell on your business then the process of finding a buyer can take 12 months alone,” he says.
How to work with local officials and build strong relationships with community leaders
“Before that, you should think carefully about what happens to your property and how to maximise its value to you for your retirement.”
Yet planning your retirement is also an opportunity to safeguard the future of your business and its role in the community.
“Our business now goes by Woody’s, which is what the shop was known as in the community when we ran it,” says David Woodrow, who sold his newsagent business in Bishopton, near Glasgow, in 2020. “We take that as a compliment.”
Woodrow agrees that planning his retirement was “three-to-four years” in the making.
With that in mind, this week we find out how you can put in place plans for your retirement, no matter what stage of your career you might be at.
Speak to a financial advisor
Sarj Patel, of Pasture Lane Stores in Sutton Bonnington, Leicestershire, is one of many retailers to recommend store owners seek expert advice when planning their retirement. “I think it is important to anyone who is self-employed to have that kind of advice,” he says.
“A financial advisor is able to help you put a plan together, understand how much income you might get from the sale of your business and your investments, and then propose a date for when you might be able to retire.”
Working with his financial advisor, Patel has put in place a plan to retire when he is 60 years old. “One thing my advisor has made me realise is that it is better to sell my business but stay on as the owner of the property and lease it back to the new retailer. I also own several buy-to-let properties and, in both cases, the income this provides will represent the majority of my ‘pension’,” he says.
Invest in your store
One of the best ways to prepare for retirement might be investing in the future of your business.
“I have a five-year plan which will end with my retirement,” explains Jason Birks, who owns Mosci Newsagents in County Durham. “A major part of this was a store refit in November. We updated the store with modern shelving, layout, refrigeration units and other technology a store needs to be successful.”
One reason for this is to protect the value of the business as – along with a private pension and other investments – Birks’ store represents a key part of his post-retirement financial security.
It also safeguards the future of his store as an essential amenity for his local area.
“The community needs a successful local retailer, so, by investing in our store, we can ensure our premises is bought by people who want to continue operating it as a convenience store.”
Work with your franchise or symbol group
As you think about selling on your business, Serge Khunkhun – who runs a One Stop store in Wolverhampton with his wife, Suki – says franchises such as his can be invaluable.
“In theory, One Stop stores are like any other retail business, and it is up to us to find a buyer and arrange the sale. If the buyer wants to continue operating as a One Stop, they technically have to meet two criteria: is the store appropriate for One Stop and do they tick the box in terms of partners for the franchise?” he says.
Being part of a symbol group can have significant benefits when selling on a business, Khunkhun believes. “Our business development manager can contact other One Stop operators in the area to see if they want to expand. It’s an easy win for us, another One Stop operator and, of course, One Stop as a whole,” he says.
Think about what you’ll do next
When thinking about retirement, it’s just as important to consider what’s in front of you as it is to think about what sort of legacy you leave behind. Luckily for David Woodrow, who will have retired from running his newsagent in Bishopton, Glasgow, two years ago this month, this wasn’t an issue.
“I was looking forward to the day I didn’t have to be up at 4.30am, seven days a week,” he says.
“We miss the people, not the early mornings or the hassles with Menzies. There were no withdrawal symptoms – on the morning after we sold, it was nine o’clock before I could get out of bed, no problem.”
Woodrow also knew what he wanted to do when he retired. “My gardening’s keeping me going. We promised ourselves we’d get a greenhouse, so that keeps me busy and we have other interests community-wise,” he says.
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