Holland’s of Milford is located in the beautiful and popular seaside village of Milford on Sea, south of the New Forest National Park. The store is situated on the main parade in the village, which is a short distance from the village green and other shops, benefitting from a high footfall.

The new store owner, Mr Kularaj Pathmanthan, has gained several years’ experience in the retail sector by helping his family of retailers. For many years he managed his brother’s multiple petrol filling station business’, which hosted large convenience stores and also obtained experience working in an off licence. Both differing types of retail business has allowed for Mr Pathmanthan to have a wide understanding of the different offerings and what should be transferred to Holland’s of Milford. Mr Pathmanthan is an engineer by trade but throughout his time managing his family’s business’ the idea of acquiring his own business has become more inviting, since searching for a property the perfect opportunity presented itself in Hollands of Milford.

There is a huge potential at this convenience store to increase trade and variety. Interestingly, since the Covid-19 pandemic started, the previous owners noted that the store has seen increased and continued high levels of trade, highlighting the shops potential. The previous owners are selling this store so they can retire which has meant that, of late, they have only been spending three hours a day in the store. Mr Pathmanthan has seen the opportunity at Holland’s of Milford and will be extending the trading hours to 10pm, Monday-Sunday, alongside improving the selection of offerings. The store currently holds refrigeration units and ample space, which means that there this is a lot that can be developed - it is an exciting part of the purchase and will see the Mr Pathmanthan take a very hands on approach with the store.

Mr Pathmanthan comments “I’m an Engineer by trade, albeit my family has always been in the Retail Sector and as such, I have lots of experience in helping manage convenience stores. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it made me realise that the market has changed and that my current line of work was far from stable so I made the decision to buy my own store. In my opinion, the Convenience store is somewhat “futureproofed” due to demand/need. Holland’s is a fantastic business with a loyal client base and even though people are more often using on-line shopping, we still offer a valuable service. We are even developing an App which will enable our customers to order on-line from us for deliveries towards the end of this year!

I’m delighted with the help I have received from Chris Field at Christie Finance, who did exactly what he said he would and delivered a fantastic funding package and at a very competitive interest rate. I have already introduced a relative to Chris, as well as my Accountant who was looking for assistance for some of his other clients. I’m very grateful for all you have done and will be in touch if ever I buy another business”

Chris Field Director at Christie Finance and broker on the deal comments, “I was delighted to assist Kularaj in securing the finance he needed to help acquire this attractive and well-established business. The Debt Market is challenging at the moment, especially for first time buyers looking to secure a Leasehold business. Whilst most High Street lenders had no appetite to support such a proposal, we managed to use our experience and expertise to identify a commercial solution for our client which we delivered quickly. In fact, the loan proceeds were ready before the respective Solicitors had completed their work on the purchase. I wish Kularaj all the very best with this exciting venture and have every confidence that Kularaj will take this fantastic store even more successful.”