What it costs,
and how we earn.
Three components, stated in full before you receive a proposal. What we will not do is quote a fee before we know the format and the location, because the number would be meaningless.
Our fee is not the cost of your store.
Two separate numbers, and confusing them is the fastest way to misjudge this proposition.
Establishment cost
Everything needed to bring the business into existence and to opening day. Formation and professional fees, surveys, licence applications, lease costs, range and supplier setup, EPOS configuration, recruitment and training.
Paid by you, to the providers concerned. We coordinate it, we do not mark it up, and you see the invoices.
Capital deployed into the shop
Fit-out and refrigeration, any electrical upgrade, lease deposit and premium, opening stock, and the working capital the store needs through its ramp.
This is the largest number by a wide margin, and it is excluded from the base on which our setup fee is calculated. We are not paid a percentage of your chillers.
A fee charged on fit-out and stock would pay us more for specifying a bigger store, more refrigeration and a deeper opening order than the catchment supports. In a thin-margin retail business, over-fitting and over-stocking are two of the fastest ways to lose money.
How Akontec is paid.
Percentages and amounts are agreed per venture and confirmed in your order form. The structure below does not change.
Setup fee
A percentage of the establishment cost defined above, with a stated minimum so small ventures remain viable to deliver. Agreed once format and location are fixed.
- Fit-out, equipment and stock excluded from the base
- Stated minimum fee applies
- Rate reduces as establishment cost rises
- Staged against delivery milestones
Management fee
A fixed monthly amount covering buying, range, promotions, listings, analysis, compliance and reporting. Sized to scope and reviewed annually.
- Covers our delivery cost, not our profit
- Scope defined in a service schedule
- Service credits if we miss agreed measures
- Notice period both ways
Profit share
A percentage of net operating profit above a threshold agreed at the outset, calculated annually against a defined expense schedule and chart of accounts.
- Nothing due below the threshold
- Expense schedule fixed in advance
- Calculated on agreed accounts, shown not asserted
- Fixed term, not perpetual
Specific percentages, minimums and thresholds are set per venture and are not published here, because a single published number would be wrong for most readers. They appear in full in your proposal before you commit, and do not change afterwards without your written agreement.
How and when the setup fee is paid.
Staged against delivery, with a retention released only after the store is actually trading.
| Stage | Share | Released against |
|---|---|---|
| On signing | 40% | Order form executed, format, area and catchment research begins |
| On site secured | 30% | Entity formed, lease completed with all four checks cleared, licence lodged |
| On readiness | 20% | Fit-out complete and certified, EPOS live, staff trained, stock merchandised |
| Retention | 10% | Released 30 days after opening, against the acceptance criteria in your order form |
Paid by you, at cost
Professional fees, surveys, licence fees, contractors, equipment, EPOS, stock and recruitment costs are paid by you directly or reimbursed at cost against invoices. We do not mark them up and take no commission from suppliers we introduce.
If a wholesaler or equipment supplier offers us a referral fee or a rebate, we tell you and credit it against your fee. That is written into the agreement, and in this sector it matters — supplier rebates are common and they belong to you.
Exit is defined before you start
End the engagement during setup and you pay for stages completed, nothing further. End the management agreement after opening and you keep the company, the lease, the licences, the fit-out, the stock, the supplier accounts, the EPOS product file and every document.
The product file in particular transfers to you. It is the accumulated knowledge of what sells and at what margin in your store, and it is not something we retain.
Get the numbers for your store
Bring your capital range, target area and the format you have in mind. We come back with the fee, the establishment budget and the capital requirement, itemised.