Midhurst, West Sussex

Overview

Tillys of Midhurst presents an excellent opportunity to acquire a well-established and highly regarded café business, located in the heart of the affluent market town of Midhurst, West Sussex.

The business traded successfully for approximately eight years, building a strong reputation for high-quality food, friendly service, and a consistently welcoming atmosphere. It became a well-known destination within the town, supported by a loyal base of repeat customers and strong word-of-mouth recommendations.

The business has now ceased trading. However, this creates a significant opportunity for a new owner to step into a fully fitted premises and relaunch immediately. With all infrastructure in place, this represents a genuine turnkey restart opportunity without the cost, delay, and risk of starting from scratch.

Business Highlights

- Well-known and highly regarded daytime café in an affluent West Sussex market town
- Historic turnover of around £87,000 achieved on a restricted trading schedule
- Simple, proven, owner-operated café model
- Fully fitted premises enabling immediate relaunch, with no requirement for a costly refit
- Strong online reputation with high ratings across major review platforms
- Low fixed overheads supporting healthy margins
- Clear and immediate scope to grow turnover through extended hours and additional trading days
- Suited to owner-operators, first-time buyers and experienced operators seeking a relaunch opportunity

The Business

The business operates as a traditional daytime café, offering breakfast, brunch, light lunches, and a range of hot and cold beverages. It follows a simple, proven café model within an owner-operated structure.

One of the most compelling aspects of the business is its historically limited trading pattern. Operating for approximately 21 hours per week across four days, it still achieved strong levels of turnover and profitability, clearly demonstrating underlying demand.

The layout provides approximately 16 internal covers, with additional external seating, and an efficient design supporting strong service flow. The defensibility of the business rests on its established goodwill within the local market, its consistently high customer ratings, and a loyal base of repeat customers and referrals. This provides a clear opportunity for a new owner to increase revenue through extended hours and additional trading days.

Location

Midhurst is one of West Sussex's most desirable and affluent market towns, positioned within the South Downs National Park. The area benefits from a strong local economy, high levels of disposable income, and consistent tourism throughout the year.

The town attracts a mix of residents and visitors, including high-net-worth individuals drawn to nearby attractions, creating a strong and stable trading environment. Key location benefits include an affluent, high-spending customer demographic, strong year-round tourism and visitor footfall, an established independent retail and café scene, consistent local trade alongside seasonal uplift, and an excellent reputation as a premium lifestyle destination.

Premises & Tenure

The business is offered on a leasehold basis and is being sold with a fully fitted café setup, enabling immediate recommencement of trading. The premises are well presented and equipped with all essential catering and service equipment.

As the business is currently not trading, the handover is clean and straightforward, and the premises remain fully equipped and ready for immediate reopening. There is no requirement for a costly refit or setup period, and a new owner has the flexibility to either retain or rebrand the concept. As the business is not currently trading, there will be minimal or no stock included within the sale. The business also benefits from Business Rates exemption, further reducing overhead costs.

Financial Overview

The business has historically delivered strong performance relative to its size and operating hours. These figures were achieved on a restricted trading schedule, which highlights the opportunity to increase revenue through extended hours and a more proactive operating approach.

- Annual turnover: £87,000
- Net profit: £25,000

Included within the sale are a commercial coffee machine, a commercial dishwasher, a commercial convection oven, fixtures and fittings, and internal seating. The estimated second-hand asset value of the included equipment is £10,000 to £15,000, with the cost to replicate the setup being significantly higher, offering immediate value and reducing upfront capital expenditure.

Growth Potential

There is clear and immediate scope to increase both turnover and profitability under new ownership.

- Extending opening hours beyond current levels
- Introducing weekend and evening trading
- Expanding takeaway and delivery services
- Increasing marketing and social media activity
- Leveraging local tourism and events

The historic performance demonstrates a strong base, with significant upside available through relatively simple operational changes.

Reason for Sale

The business has now ceased trading, creating a genuine turnkey restart opportunity for a new owner to step in and relaunch immediately.

Next Steps

Tillys of Midhurst represents a compelling opportunity to acquire a well-known café business in a prime and affluent trading location, combining strong historic performance, an excellent customer reputation, low overheads, and a fully fitted premises. With the ability to recommence trading immediately and scale the business through straightforward improvements, this is a rare and accessible opportunity. Full details are available in the Information Memorandum.