What it costs.
How long it takes.
We will not publish a single headline number, because there is not one. What we can do is show you every line you will have to fund and tell you which ones people consistently underestimate.
Everything you will have to pay for.
Grouped into establishment, capital and running cost. Amounts vary enormously by location, store size and whether the unit is a shell or a trading shop.
| Line | Group | What drives the number |
|---|---|---|
| Company formation | Establishment | Filing fees, registered agent or office, constitutional documents |
| Professional fees | Establishment | Solicitor for the lease, licensing solicitor if contested, accountant setup |
| Surveys | Establishment | Building survey, electrical capacity survey, and footfall counts on a new site |
| Licence applications | Establishment | Alcohol, tobacco and lottery registration; food hygiene where a counter is planned |
| Range & supplier setup | Establishment | Account opening, terms negotiation, product file build |
| Recruitment & training | Establishment | Manager and staff sourcing, licensing qualifications, age-restricted sales training |
| Akontec setup fee | Establishment | Percentage of the above, with a stated minimum |
| Lease deposit & premium | Capital | Deposit, and a premium if taking over a trading store |
| Refrigeration | Capital | The largest fit-out line. Chiller and freezer run sized to the range |
| Electrical upgrade | Capital | Quoted after survey, on the utility's timetable. Zero or substantial |
| Shelving, counter & flooring | Capital | Store size and layout |
| EPOS & security | Capital | Till points, scanning, CCTV coverage and retention, alarm |
| Signage | Capital | Fascia and window graphics, plus consent where illuminated |
| Opening stock | Capital | Bought to the planogram. The easiest line in the venture to over-spend |
| Working capital | Capital | Ramp period before sales stabilise, plus stock replenishment before margin accumulates |
| Rent, rates & service charge | Running | Location. Fixed regardless of trade |
| Payroll | Running | Manager plus shift cover. Scales with opening hours, not with sales |
| Cost of goods | Running | Buying terms and range mix. The main lever you control |
| Utilities | Running | Refrigeration runs continuously. Energy is a significant line in retail |
| Card acquiring fees | Running | Per transaction. Material on a small basket |
| Waste & shrinkage | Running | Date-code losses, damage and theft. Measured, not guessed |
| Insurance & compliance | Running | Public and product liability, employers' liability, stock, licence renewals |
| Akontec management fee | Running | Flat monthly, scoped to the store and reporting requirement |
What people consistently get wrong.
In roughly this order of how often it derails a plan.
The wrong site cannot be fixed
Marketing does not repair a location with no footfall, and you cannot move. This is why site search is our longest stage.
Turnover is not margin
A store turning over a large number on tobacco and lottery can be barely profitable. The mix decides, not the headline.
Payroll is fixed, sales are not
Staff are paid for opening hours whether customers come or not. Extending hours is easy to do and hard to justify.
Opening stock over-runs
Full shelves feel right and tie up cash in lines that will not sell. We buy to the planogram, not to fill space.
A foreign-owned single-member US LLC has an annual federal information filing obligation together with a pro-forma corporate return, and it applies even with no tax payable and no trading. The penalty for missing it is substantial and applies per year. Every venture we set up leaves you with a compliance calendar carrying that date.
How long, realistically.
This is the longest of our four ventures to open. Site search and licensing dominate, and both run on other people's timetables.
| Route | Typical range to opening | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Taking over a trading store | Shortest | Due diligence, lease assignment and licence transfer. Fit-out already exists |
| Franchise or symbol group | Medium | Group approval and site sign-off, then a fit-out to their specification |
| New independent or specialist store | Longest | Site search, licensing, any electrical upgrade, and the full fit-out |
Preparation quality and pace
- Speed and completeness of every application and submission we prepare
- Range design, supplier negotiation and product file build
- Fit-out specification and project management
- Weekly written progress against the dated stage plan
- Whether a suitable site comes to market, or at what rent
- Whether a licence is granted, and how long a hearing takes
- Utility survey and upgrade timelines
- Landlord and solicitor pace on the lease
- Contractor availability and equipment lead times
- Whether a bank opens the account, and when
Every proposal marks these dependencies explicitly. We would rather give you a wider range we can hold to than a confident date we cannot.
Get an itemised budget for your store
We build the establishment cost, the capital requirement and the monthly running cost line by line, with every assumption written down.