Buying a convenience store: the step-by-step guide

Buying a convenience store is a bit like buying a house and a business at the same time. You're getting the building (or the right to use it), the stock, the customers, the licences and the staff. Get it right and you own something that people walk into every day of the year. Get it wrong and you've bought yourself a very early start and a very long day.

The good news is that it's a well-trodden path. The ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) counts 50,925 convenience stores across mainland UK, and 71% of them are run by independent retailers. Thousands of people have done this before you. This guide walks you through it, in order, and flags the traps.

Step 1: Work out what you can really afford

Before you look at a single shop, work out two numbers: how much you can put in, and what you'd like to take out.

Most buyers need to think about more than the purchase price. The extras that catch people out include:

• Stock, which is often bought on top of the price (more on that in Step 4)
• Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you're buying a freehold or paying a lease premium
• Legal and accountancy fees
• Money to keep the shop running while you find your feet
• Upgrades, repairs or new equipment

If you need a loan, talk to a lender that handles commercial or business purchases early. Lenders usually want to see your plan, your experience and the shop's accounts, so it's worth getting your paperwork in shape before you go shopping.

Step 2: Decide what sort of deal you want

"A shop for sale" can mean quite different things. Make sure you know which you're looking at:

• Freehold with the business: you buy the building and the trading business. You own the property outright.
• Leasehold business: you buy the business and take over (or are granted) a lease from a landlord. You don't own the building.
• Freehold investment: the building is let to a tenant and you're buying the rent. That's a different type of purchase altogether, and we cover it in our auction and investment guide.

Many shops also come with a flat above. Property like that is a "mixed" property for tax purposes, and you'll want your solicitor to explain how that affects the mortgage and the tax.

Another choice: independent or symbol group. Symbol groups are the brands you'll recognise on the high street, where independent retailers trade under a shared name and buy through a group. The ACS puts 35% of shops in symbol groups and 36% as unaffiliated independents. There's no right answer, but if the shop you're buying is already in a group, read the contract carefully, because the length and exit terms matter.

Step 3: Check the numbers, then check them again

This is the step where you earn your money back later. A seller's word on turnover is just that: a word. You want evidence.

Ask to see:

1. Several years of filed accounts (as many as they'll provide)
2. VAT returns, which show what was actually declared
3. Till or EPOS reports, which show what sells and when
4. Bank statements that match the story
5. A list of staff, their hours, pay and contracts
6. Supplier terms and any equipment leases (fridges, ATMs and the like are often rented, not owned)

Get your accountant to go through the figures. They should tell you what the shop really earns once you've paid yourself a proper wage for the hours you'll work. That last bit is the one people forget.

Step 4: Stock at valuation

In many convenience store sales, you pay the price for the business plus the value of the stock on the day of completion. This is usually called "SAV", stock at valuation.

It's a fair system, but only if it's done properly. Agree up front how the stock will be counted, who counts it, how out-of-date or damaged stock is treated, and how disagreements get settled. Put it in writing.

Step 5: Look hard at the property

If it's a freehold, your solicitor will do the usual searches and checks on the title, planning, and any restrictions or charges on the property. Ask for a survey. Shops take a beating: roofs, shutters, refrigeration, drainage and the shop front can all cost real money.

If it's a lease, the lease is the business in many ways. Pay attention to:

• How long is left. A great shop on a lease with two years to run is a risky purchase.
• Rent and rent reviews. When is the rent reviewed, and how?
• Repair obligations. Who pays for the roof?
• Whether it can be assigned (passed to you) and on what conditions.
• Security of tenure. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, many business tenants have a right to ask for a new lease when theirs ends. But a lease can be "contracted out" of those protections, and then you may have no right to renew.

Step 6: Sort out the licences

If the shop sells alcohol, it needs a premises licence, and someone needs to be named as the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), who must hold a personal licence.

A premises licence isn't just handed over with the keys. Councils describe a process: the application to transfer goes on a prescribed form, usually needs the consent of the current holder, and the police have a short window (14 days at the council we checked) to object. There's also a way to ask for the transfer to take effect straight away while it's processed. Whoever's named as DPS also needs to be updated.

Look at what else the shop is licensed or registered for, too, such as lottery terminals, parcel services or tobacco registration, and ask what's needed for each to move to you.

Step 7: Understand the tax

Three taxes catch most buyers by surprise.

1. Stamp Duty Land Tax (England and Northern Ireland). For non-residential or mixed property, the freehold rates are:

Each rate only applies to the slice that falls in its band. Example (illustrative): on a £400,000 freehold, there's nothing on the first £150,000, £2,000 on the next £100,000, and £7,500 on the last £150,000. That's £9,500. For a new lease, SDLT is worked out on the rent over the lease (at 1% on the slice between £150,000 and £5 million of its "net present value"), and on any premium you pay. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes, with their own rules.

2. VAT. Sales of commercial buildings can come with VAT, and sometimes a business sale can be treated as a "transfer of a going concern" (TOGC), which has strict conditions and, for property, special rules about the option to tax and notifying HMRC. Get this wrong and a VAT bill can arrive that nobody planned for.

3. Business rates (England). Your bill is the property's rateable value multiplied by a rate set each year. From 1 April 2026, the small business multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure properties is 38.2p in the pound where the rateable value is below £51,000. Example (illustrative): a rateable value of £20,000 gives £7,640 a year before any reliefs. The ACS says the sector's total business rates costs have nearly doubled over the past two years, so ask for the current bill and don't rely on last year's.

Step 8: Make the offer, then exchange and complete

An offer is usually "subject to contract" and agreed in "heads of terms". Your solicitor will turn it into a contract. Expect your solicitor to chase the seller's solicitor for lots of paperwork. That's normal.

Before you exchange (when the deal becomes legally binding), make sure you've done the following:

• You have your funding confirmed
• The accounts check out
• The licences are lined up
• The tax treatment is agreed
• The stock valuation process is agreed
• Staff arrangements are understood

Staff usually matter more than people expect. When a business is sold, employees generally have legal protections that carry over to the new owner, so ask your solicitor about this early.

At completion, the money moves, the keys change hands, and you own it. Count the stock, read the meters, and start your list of things to fix.

Your first 90 days

Resist the urge to change everything in week one. A shop's regulars are part of what you've paid for. Spend the first weeks watching what sells, when it sells and who comes in. Talk to your staff. Talk to your suppliers. Then change things one at a time, so you know what worked.

The checklist

1. Budget set, funding discussed with a lender
2. Deal type understood (freehold, lease, investment)
3. Accounts, VAT returns and till data reviewed by an accountant
4. Stock valuation process agreed in writing
5. Survey done; title or lease reviewed by a solicitor
6. Lease: length, rent review, repairs, 1954 Act status all checked
7. Premises licence and DPS transfer timetable agreed
8. SDLT, VAT/TOGC and business rates costed
9. Staff position understood
10. Cash cushion in place for the first few months

This guide is for general information only and isn't legal, tax or financial advice. Check current rates and rules with qualified advisers before you buy.