The Daily Telegraph – 19 July 2004
A nation of publicans
Entrepreneurs in Britain and America are driven by alcohol and oil, says research by online auction house BusinessesForSale.com.
Monitoring 20,000 enquiries from April to June, the company found that most Britons want to buy a pub, while Americans dream of owning a petrol station.
Despite recent concern over pub leases that lie in landlords to sell beer at inflated prices determined by the pub group, over 9.5pc of all enquiries were for pubs.
Marcus Markou, chairman of BusinessesForSale.com said: “If you are a first time buyer, our advice is to try it out on a leasehold, learn the trade, and then branch out and buy your exclusive pub in Dorset or Oxfordshire.”
You can buy a pub lease for £20,000, Mr Markou added, against £200,000 to £500,000 for freehold pubs.
The second most popular category was childcare and nurseries. Mr Markou said he had only anecdotal evidence that many of these enquiries came from female entrepreneurs. Teachers seemed to have spotted that this sector “is growing and is lucrative”.
In the US, 8.2pc of all enquiries went to sellers of gas stations – you can buy a little bit of Texas for $89,000, followed by shops, restaurants and launderettes.
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