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Right basically, I co-manage a night club in middlesbrough, UK. It's the second oldest night club in middlesbrough. But today i found out the owners have put the place on the market for buyers.
I know its slim to no chance but i just wondered if anyone knows anything about finding investors?

I have a business plan all ready, with a book full of other events and promotions so planning isn't really an issue.
The Club is a huge site, Built in a 100 year old cinema, Currently it only has a capacity of 650, but that could easily be quadrupled with a rebuild of the upper levels making it one of the biggest night clubs in the north of england.
Anyway yeah, basically, If i dont find an investor the club will be shut and most likely converted into a tesco's or some crap.
The potential of the club is insane, when ran correctly with the correct promotions in place, we've opened at 8pm before and been at capacity by half 8 with a cue outside of another few hundred.
i'd get a business loan out for it myself but realisticly i could never get a loan for £600,000 like i would need for the stupid place.
I know its very unlikely any of you know anything about how i should proceed from here, but maybe someone will and you've never done me wrong before!
Or even if you know someone else in the game/forum who might know something who you could point in my direction would be brilliant! seriously, i've given my life to the club for the last 3 years, and i dont want to see it close now.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help
Jake

Ask JT for his credit card

I can tell you what I would do if this were here in the US. Whether that is of any use to you in the UK is highly suspect

I tend to hate the big banks here in the US. We allegedly have all these antitrust laws in place to prevent big corporations in any industry from smashing the little franchises and the mom & pop businesses with a hammer. Those laws have been entirely irrelevant since at least the 80's. This was when all the Walmarts and the pharmaceutical companies and the massive financial conglomerates privately declared themselves invincible. Their highly paid lobbyists pretty much own Capitol Hill lock, stock, and barrel. I still to this day use small banks in protest.

That being said I would still utilize these banking services in this situation. 'Business Solutions' is a product they have been trying to promote heavily over the last 10 years. It is now a bit of a hot commodity for small to midsize businesses and even 'startups' to consider purchasing with the business atmosphere being a tad more quirky lately than in the past.

This product can sometimes include but is not necessarily a 'loan' per say but more like some business guidance. That includes good advice towards a business model and possibly even some limited access to investors, marketing consultants, capital consultants, and many other relevant services. The referrals alone could potentially be worth a lot.

If there are any services like these in the UK it might be worth looking into. Try some of the bigger banks first I cannot imagine they are unfamiliar with this new product I mentioned. It is becoming fairly popular in the US business atmosphere.

Good luck to you! I hope you find some viable business partners. I assume you guys have club dj's in northern UK. Even some of the lesser knowns here in the US have big pockets and invest into clubs quite frequently.

If you have that much faith in it, you shouldn't be sitting here saying you don't want to try and get a loan. Its conflicting.

Try for the loans, if they fail ask the bank what the next step should be. They'll know of financial advisers who will be able to get in touch with people looking to invest.

Business model is one thing, but what you want to point out is a sustainable, substantial revenue stream which would benefit your investors in the long run.

Alternatively, thinking outside the box here, try crowdfunding. If your club tends to attract a group of locals in addition to regular layovers in your town, you can appeal to the locals to buy into the club (in exchange for discounts and other services), while you get your main revenue from your tourist/non-local customers. For the final leap of funding (because you won't get 1000s from your locals), you can appeal to local appropriate businesses, in exchange for (subtle, you are a night club!) advertising, they can fund you. Provided your plan is solid, but I imagine you can take care of that.

It's not that hard to get funds. It is hard to maintain investor satisfaction though. (Hence the beauty of crowdfunding in exchange for discounts, people both have a reason to come back to your place often, and they stand to gain from bringing in new customers.) Capital investors (larger amounts) tend to shift their expectations as your business grows/wanes, and in the current climate tend to kick you out of their portfolio at the slightest sign of 'weakness'.



Good luck! Hope you achieve your goals.

AeonKnight wrote:Right basically, I co-manage a night club in middlesbrough, UK. It's the second oldest night club in middlesbrough. But today i found out the owners have put the place on the market for buyers.
I know its slim to no chance but i just wondered if anyone knows anything about finding investors?

I have a business plan all ready, with a book full of other events and promotions so planning isn't really an issue.
The Club is a huge site, Built in a 100 year old cinema, Currently it only has a capacity of 650, but that could easily be quadrupled with a rebuild of the upper levels making it one of the biggest night clubs in the north of england.
Anyway yeah, basically, If i dont find an investor the club will be shut and most likely converted into a tesco's or some crap.
The potential of the club is insane, when ran correctly with the correct promotions in place, we've opened at 8pm before and been at capacity by half 8 with a cue outside of another few hundred.
i'd get a business loan out for it myself but realisticly i could never get a loan for £600,000 like i would need for the stupid place.
I know its very unlikely any of you know anything about how i should proceed from here, but maybe someone will and you've never done me wrong before!
Or even if you know someone else in the game/forum who might know something who you could point in my direction would be brilliant! seriously, i've given my life to the club for the last 3 years, and i dont want to see it close now.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help
Jake

Which club is it in Boro?

So, is this a case of you having a night club and leasing the premises, which the owner is now putting up for sale? If so, the easiest thing might be to simply move to another location in Boro?

Otherwise, you'll not only need to provide evidence of potential for the future, but past revenue - how long has the club been operating? Banks or potential investors will want to see at least three, preferably five, years' worth of accounts and the revenue. If, for example, you're looking for £600k, but the net profit for the past three years has only been £30k, then you're fighting a losing battle.

Ha yes, difference between investing and looking for investors.
In the first case, past results cannot just be extrapolated to 'guarantee profit'.
In the second, you need past results to back up your (then-substantiated) claims of future results.

I will have to agree with Juliette on the crowd funding. You can gain so much more for what little you wont get from the regulars. I have seen this used several times to great success with a couple local business (one was a club).

But large expansion isn't always good in clubs, part of the thrill is being able to get in. Hope this adventure pans out for you and you have solid numbers to show investors/banks.

Who are the shareholders? How long is your lease agreement for? Off the top of my head the Landlord and Tenant Act should have some relevant information.

As for investors, while crowd funding is one way to go, and if you are lucky you raise enough to more than just survive for a short while, I would look into securing a knowledgeable partner. Someone who invests in similar businesses and understands the situation.

For that, how popular is your brand? I would contact the owners of one of the big clubs in London, they might be interested in extending their portfolio up north. You MIGHT have to accept a change of name or some such, but that's all up for negotiation. As you mentioned the club is quite old, sometimes sentiment will help you find new investors.

DragonsDen

harchester wrote:DragonsDen

get this one she will do anything for a bit of money