the way we assessed a campsite was: however many pitches it was licenced for then factor on between £800-£1000 per pitch ( statics/ lodges/park homes etc) attract a greater pitch value and that gave you an annual turnover.... so example a site licenced for 10 pitches would look to turn over £10,000 per year ( at a max pitch value), expenses on that we'd expect to be approx £3,500 to £4,500, IF VAT registered then further expenses would be VAT some is at 5% some at 20%, then from that any loan repayments to be deducted......
That said that would be based on an established site in a prime tourist spot charging a 'reasonable' pitch fee, if you were selling pitches at £3 per night for 6 people then the pitch value would be no where near those figures!
The licence is dictated by the council as to when you can and can not open, TBH in the two areas we have been in and the ones we looked at in depth they do tend to get it about right. Like now if we opened through the winter it would actually cost us more in running costs than we could get in income, sometimes, just sometimes they do know ;)
that should give you the basics, sorry not disclosing our personal finances but gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect...... wish we'd have had someone to advise us !
Maybe look at some sites for sale and ask for the figures so you can see a bit better, agents include edwards and partners, fox leisure and colliers... and join the BHHPA ( the site owners organisation - their quarterly magazine often has analysis of the market/pitch values/loans and lending/marketing & advertsing rates etc etc).
As eskdale said your area is one of the most important factors to consider, a prime tourist area equals bigger money but less chance of licencing or change of licencing, a less popular tourist area or one with a 'reputation' equals struggles to get customers to come.... don't forget as well as the demands of what customers wants/expects from a site, customers will also be driven to visit by whats in the locality, in this business you REALLY have to know your area and what people expect...
------------- If you can't beat em, join em, so we did! And then we sold it for a holiday let & Glamping pod instead 😁
Thank you for taking the time out again Jakers, very much appreciated :)
Dont worry about it, i wouldn't expect you to disclose that much info, what you have given is more than enough to give me a good idea of what to look out for..
and on that note i think i'll leave you in peace so you can relax ready for tomorrow :)
For information Jakers - The BH&HPA do a special deal for members on card terminals at a very competitive rate. Our own Bank (HSBC) cannt match it. We are finding more and more people using card not only for paying for their pitch but also for goods in the shop/bar etc.. It has got to the stage that it is now cheaper for us to process a card than it is for us to pay cash into the bank. Crazy situation!
------------- Ang
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Quote: Originally posted by Ang/Ken on 29/8/2014
For information Jakers - The BH&HPA do a special deal for members on card terminals at a very competitive rate. Our own Bank (HSBC) cannt match it. We are finding more and more people using card not only for paying for their pitch but also for goods in the shop/bar etc.. It has got to the stage that it is now cheaper for us to process a card than it is for us to pay cash into the bank. Crazy situation!
Thanks :) we'll look into it again when time allows, many want a 12 month terminal hire ( only open for 7-8months negates its use) likewise because of the location of our phone line it either means vast expense to move that via BT who are the only 'providers' able to do that here! or a remote terminal which is what is putting the costs up, have looked into iZettle which seem good but would still have to charge the fees to the customer to cover the costs of processing, plus we need our wifi upgrading = more cost!.
I believe it's barclays merchant services who provide the BHHPA 'discount' for the size of our park the last time we looked it was prohibitive, no bar/shop/statics here, just good ole touring caravans and tenters :)
We do accept deposits via paypal invoicing which does work well and provided our customers know they bring cash for the balance, will keep looking to see, thanks for the suggestions tho.
------------- If you can't beat em, join em, so we did! And then we sold it for a holiday let & Glamping pod instead 😁
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Help/Advise on a campsite
