UPDATE
Whatever we raise will be the deposit for a mortgage for the shop ❤️
Hi everyone,
I just want to clear a few things up about the fundraiser. The questions that are being asked regularly to the staff in the shop.
1. The price of the shop is £160,000 to buy the unit it is in. This is unit 2 of 33 Silver Street.
Go fund me do it in stages. They said they do it this way because more people are likely to donate if they don’t see such a huge figure. Which is why they have put £8000 as the goal currently. When they get closer to this amount, they will increase the amount again.
2. The reason I want to buy the Shop and not continue renting it is because if the oncologist is right and I do only have 3 months to a year and the shop doesn’t do very well for a while, the rent doesn’t need to be covered which is currently £940 per month. But this is only for the next two years until the end of the 20 year lease. The landlord can increase this in two years time when my 20 year lease runs out because a new lease would be started and a new higher amount could be chosen.
The current rent is roundabout the current market value (what an estate agent would value it at) and my current lease goes on what the current market value is. The landlord could change the next lease is to NOT include this condition therefore it could end up being a lot more expensive to rent. If the rent doesn’t need to be paid because the building is owned, that will give more breathing space to be able to try and keep the shop going.
3. I have been encouraged by many customers to do the GoFundMe because they have said this is an opportunity for the shop to definitely stay no matter what happens to me. And some have pointed out that if I don’t do it, and if anything does happen to me, And the shop has to close, customers have said that they will say they wish they had been given the opportunity to buy the shop earlier.
And I so I decided to do it because they do have a good point.
4. All three of my children want the shop to stay and can run it between them like I currently do, but they might not want to work there full-time. Which means it will keep eight part-time members of staff who can pretty much do the day to day running of it themselves. All I currently do at the moment is 20 to 50 hours every week from home, doing the orders, the wages, the VAT return, the end of year returns and all the other paperwork. This often includes time spent at the shop out of hours putting on special offers/displays etc.
If my children do you want to take this on, they will be able to. If my children don’t want to take this on the extra thousand pounds per month will pay someone to fill in the gaps.
There will be no extra profit, though.
5. As the Shop has been part of the Bradford on Avon community for 20 years, it would be a shame to see it go, Especially because of all its environmental credentials. Something in the world is desperate for at the moment. My children owning it will mean the shop will stay if anything happens to me.
I am determined that I’m not going anywhere and that I will beat this even though the doctors keep feeling the need to tell me that only 13% of people with pancreatic cancer are still alive 5 years after diagnosis.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi, my name is Chris and I am fundraising to buy my shop.
The reason for this is because I have just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and as the shop is such a big part of the Bradford on Avon community, I want to ensure it stays open.
I have three children who don’t want to see it close who all have careers of their own. I have nothing to leave them because I’ve never been able to afford to buy the shop or our home. We have had to rent both for the last 20 years.
The lease on the shop runs out in two years which was when I was due to get my army pension which was going to fund buying the shop for them but sadly I might not be around in 2 years which means I wouldn’t get the pension.
If we can own it rather than rent it, there will be an extra £1000 per month to pay a part time manager to keep it going.
Hi, my name is Chris and I am fundraising to buy my shop.
The reason for this is because I have just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and as the shop is such a big part of the Bradford on Avon community, I want to ensure it stays open.
I have three children who don’t want to see it close who all have careers of their own. I have nothing to leave them because I’ve never been able to afford to buy the shop or our home. We have had to rent both for the last 20 years.
The lease on the shop runs out in two years which was when I was due to get my army pension which was going to fund buying the shop for them but sadly I might not be around in 2 years which means I wouldn’t get the pension.
If we can own it rather than rent it, there will be an extra £1000 per month to pay a part time manager to keep it going.