The Coffee's hot and strong at Sylvia Park

The cafe is humming from morning to late evening. Photo / Supplied

The Coffee Club Sylvia Park, one the busiest cafes in New Zealand in one of the country's busiest malls, is being offered for sale as a business going concern with an asking price of $795,000 through Hooi Hing, business franchise specialist at Affiliated Business Consultants.

"The business was established in 2007 by a young couple and, after nearly three years of operation, they would like to take time out to start a family, so they are reluctantly placing their business on the market," Hing says. "The Sylvia Park outlet is by far the most successful cafe in The Coffee Club's New Zealand stable.

"One of the main attributes is its the location in the centre of possibly the best shopping mall in the country. It has a great lease, and is located in the middle of the entertainment hub in the mall, where it is exposed to heavy foot traffic and serves as a popular place for people to meet."

The business operates under the Cafe Bar and Restaurant (CBR) model of The Coffee Club Franchise.

The cafe has comfortable interior seating for 70 patrons and tables for an additional 60 clients outside offering an alfresco dining option with a liquor licence that operates day and night, seven days a week.

"This cafe hums from the minute they open in the morning through to the end of evening after the movies have finished," Hing says.

He says the gross turnover for the past three years has been in excess of $2 million per annum along with a steady increment in the net profit over this time.

"The Coffee Club Sylvia Park has all the attributes of a solid performing and profitable business and represents a rare opportunity to become part of the amazing success story," Hing says.

"For serious buyers wanting a high performing hospitality investment that is fully managed and highly profitable, they can't go past The Coffee Club Sylvia Park.

"With an ideal location backed by a strong franchise brand, this business is about as good as it gets."

Hing says the current owners, despite having no previous hospitality experience, managed to run the business successfully from day one.

"So successful were they, that they were awarded the Franchisee of the year in the Food and Beverage Category at the Westpac NZ Franchise Awards 2009/2010. This goes to show that matching a successful franchise, with an enthusiastic franchisee, in a great location, is a win-win formula that can produce a stunning result.

"After lots of initial effort and support from the Coffee Club head office, the owners now have a finely tuned operation that requires very little of their input. While they are no longer at the coal face, they continue to keep a watchful eye on the operation from the background."

Hing says new owners will benefit from the hard work put into the business. "Although it is fully managed at present, I would highly recommend that a new owner spend time working in the business to gain an insight into the key areas and to then ease into a managed structure," he says.

Despite its impressive results so far, Hing says The Coffee Club Sylvia Park still has more capacity to increase turnover by implementing additional sales and marketing strategies. There is also scope to increase the bottom line by focusing on reducing costs for a working owner or couple.

The Coffee Club brand has experienced exponential growth in New Zealand. Barely 3 years' old, the franchise now has 25 stores in New Zealand, and more than 200 in Australia, and is still growing. A prerequisite to investment in The Coffee Club Sylvia Park is for a buyer to be approved by the NZ Master Franchise holder.

"Good communication skills, strong leadership and a can-do attitude are seen as important requisites," Hing says.

"A comprehensive training package will be completed before taking possession of the store and this will ensure a smooth takeover of the business with minimum disruption and maximum peace of mind."