Pattaya Business For Sale?

[actiondell4]

Over the last few months I have been looking around various websites,on some occassions meeting the owners of various businesses that are for sale in the Pattaya area.

I have come to the conclusion that most are so overpriced and that is the reason they have sit idle for 12 months .

On meeting a farang owner of a restaurant I was looking at in Jomtiem,actually a fish and chip shop that has been for sale for over 18 months,he started to blame the reason his business was for sale for so long was because many farangs didnt know how to cook fish and chips.

I must say he was a very nice and helpful guy but his price of 4 million baht leasehold was far too much.

On hearing his desperation to go to Australia to live with his thai wife ,i offered far less than that,however he refused to budge.,going down to only 3.5 mil,even though he was clearly distressed to get out of it and on his way back to Australia,even though he didnt have a Australian accent,not that it was my business.

And that obviously is his right not to accept lower offers.

I must admit i really started to feel for this guy as his face lit up with excitement when he was talking about going back to Sydney Australia where he apparently worked for some time and wanted to take his wife and new child.

If anyone is interested its the Fish and Chip shop on the main road into Jomtiem ,I gathered it was a good profitable business and seems genuine reasons for selling.

Just the asking price was too much in my opinion,but it may differ yours.

Another business i looked at was a sit down restaurant also in the jomtiem area,the leasehold was rental 45000 baht per month shophouse,and this man and wife couple wanted 4.5 million baht !

On looking at this business,i could of bought the actual building for that price !

I really should have told them,that the shophouse their business was in was also for sale at the same price as their business but i didnt.

The rental income possibly would of been better than the actual business income.

Another business which was a cafe/bar type in Soi Bukhow also a farang,they didnt bother cleaning up before i arrived.

The business hardly had any stock,and the toilet was smelling so much i couldnt stay in there.

For some reason the farang walked in there to show me the toilet and stayed in there whilst he was talking and of course i had to stay there with him to listen,but finally i had to walk out because of the horryfying smell.

For some reason he then appeared aggressive and remained in there still talking whilst i was outside.

He called me to go back inside and i told him it stunk in there and Anyway we without thinking i immediately walked to one of his small tables and sat down.,he came out of the toilet and said" Yere I know it stinks in there cause you f....rted ! I was extremely embarrassed .He then sat down at one of his tables where he demanded a DEPOSIT !!

Now I told him as i had told the business broker that at this stage I was looking at many businesses,he then mentions,I dont put up with "tyrekickers",,and then told me that MANY people were after his business and I needed to be very quick and put a 10% deposit on it immediately to hold it,of course i think non refundable.

Whilst we were talking,he liights up a cigarette which i wasnt really happy with as he had two customers,young farang couple sitting behind us,where the smoke was blowing.

The lease was due to expire in 2011,and told me i would have to "find" the owner myself or the business broker could help with a new lease.

He laughed about the financials of the business and readily admitted he didnt keep records.

Rent was 25000 a month,a few rooms on top,and he wanted 1.5 mil,and by this stage i had only looked at his sparse empty dirty cafe and the toilet and he started telling me he expects this money to be paid in cash.

Anyway to cut a long story short I left and he wasnt happy when i walked out.,and i received a phone call from the business broker who referred me who told me at that stage the owner had complained.

I always make sure i am well dressed and presentable but it makes me think do these people really want to sell their businesses?

There must be people willing to buy,otherwise sale prices would not be that high.

But really the ones I have met,some even refuse to show me their books,some expect a deposit then and there.

Edited June 26, 2010 by actiondell4

[Thaifan2]

If you want to throw money away then give it to me and not buy a restaurant in Jomtien . :jap:

[SUPERIOR]

Don't be going of now and buying a restraunt in jomtient for the love of God Man.

You can give Thai Fan Half and i'll Graciously Take the other Half.

Happy Days

Edited June 26, 2010 by SUPERIOR

[gotlost]

Some sucker will come along and buy these business for there asking price. It always happens.

[seadoo]

On a side note, some have made some comments about starting/owning a business in Pats/Jomtien, I guess if it wasn't for these people who open these businesses you wouldn't have anywhere to go or eat, so credit to anyone that has the courage to open a business, especially in these times.

[Theo007]

Don't understand the comment about the aussie accent! I am a 4th. generation Australian and I don't have one either.

[actiondell4]

Well Theo,I think this particualr business owner had english accent,and i was surprised he was of dual nationality being from the UK and Australia.

That particular business in my opinion would be good if you were prepared to put in the hard work,i really hope he does sell it,for some reason he wanted to get back to Manly in Sydney to bring his family up.

He was very helpful and one of the few business owners who went out of his way to assist me .

I didnt find his staff that good or efficient however.

He told me you could put it even under management,this being the fish and chip shop in Jomtiem,however I certainly wouldnt take the risk with that,and would rather be there to watch over,even though I did talk to the owner who actually cooked the fish and chips himself at times and whether he had or needed a work permit im unsure as he was married to a Thai lady.

I would have to enquire more about work permits .

There are several more businesses that i was interested in ,however im back in the bustling Western World so I will do some more searches from the internet.

[onnut]

Who farted?

I wouldn't mind the fish & chip shop but would not pay that much for it.

[Asianrider]

judging by the OP's comments and experienes, the requirements for owning a business here aren't business experience just the purchase price !

[suiging]

judging by the OP's comments and experienes, the requirements for owning a business here aren't business experience just the purchase price !

Wise words

[CHdiver]

On a side note, some have made some comments about starting/owning a business in Pats/Jomtien, I guess if it wasn't for these people who open these businesses you wouldn't have anywhere to go or eat, so credit to anyone that has the courage to open a business, especially in these times.

Gladiators I salute you

[NanLaew]

Maybe their idea of running a business in Pattaya is to do a less than stellar job, run it into the ground, provide sh!t service and piss-poor quality food to pissed up farangs who don't know any better, lose all their money and then try and make a 'profit' by selling it at an outrageously inflated price to some clueless walk-in, lubbed up punter?

The venerable jingthing accurately described Pattaya as having a dearth of barely adequate, low-quality eateries; an opinion to which I wholeheartedly subscribe. To the OP, if you have the money to invest in a real money-making dining experience, time to surmount the significant challenges of working with local products and staff and a passion to create a good dining experience in Pattaya, better to start from scratch.

[happyaussie]

I lived in Jomtien for several months and used to regularly frequent the Fish and Chip shop you're referring. His food was very good but expensive and I never saw many people there. Service was fair but slow. It was always apparent the owner had had enough. And you're right, that's a very unusual Australian accent. He's Brit through and through.

[Aikido]

its no wonder the Thais think all Farangs are stupid, if you want out that bad you would take what you can get.

i for one wouldnt pay anywhere near 4 million Baht for a business i couldnt own!

[Seizetheday]

Why don't you just set up your own restaurant? Surely that would be cheaper even with the fit out costs?

[Spalpeen]

Personally I wouldn't advise anyone hoping to make money to either buy or set up a restaurant in the Pattaya/Jomtien area. However, anyone who is relatively new to the area and who is determined to do so needs to give serious thought to both the location and the style of restaurant. There was an American Diner style restaurant that opened on Thappraya Rd. about a year ago next to several established restaurants. Everyone on this forum predicted that it would close within six months, and it did.

Ref. an earlier post, "Dearth" means 'a severe shortage of", which is probably the opposite of what was intended.

[Paul888]

I agree completely with the sentiments expressed in this thread.

Businesses here seem to be "valued" on a "how much have I pissed away while I owned this" or "how much do I need to escape this hel_l-hole" basis.

Personally I blame the lack of competent business brokers who don't seem to do anything to explain to vendors what realistically their business might be worth, instead just rub their hands at glee at the commission they would make on the prices being asked. When i was looking a few years ago, I saw so many examples of leasehold businesses that were for sale for such high multiples of monthly income (income not profit) that there was no way the purchase price could ever be recovered before the lease expired, and with no guarantee of renewal at same terms it would be extremely risky to take the business on. A glance around the market now, shows nothing has changed. In fact if anything prices are getting more unrealistic.

If you really want a bricks and mortar business here, then the best thing to do is start a business from scratch. There are thousands of empty shop houses around and deals to be done with desperate landlords who borrowed to build them, but don't buy based on price, buy based on location and if you can't afford to buy a decent location, save your money.

[Seizetheday]

It's a bit like the residential real estate market, half the owners have a ridiculous price on their house in the belief some idiot will forget they are in a third world country and offer the same money as they would in a western country. It really beggers belief.

[DiamondGeezer]

I know of a very profitable, well established steak restaurant on South Pattaya Road going for only 3.5MB. If anyone is interested then they can PM me? A much better deal , and a classy place. It always has a regular clientele and is popular. I can happily put you in touch with the owners. (this is no joke)

[ESB7]

Key money is a total rip off....sellers want hundreds of thousands if not millions for a few chairs and a plasma screen.....no good will as the business is failing, or they take their customers with them. Trouble is buyers just dont do the maths and aint got any experience. An example here of a guy TRYING to sell a guest house, started at 6 mil key money and is now down to 3 mil...thing is the rent alone is fixed at 60k a month for 18 years....well at 720,000 a year rent thats 12 mil, plus the key money, you could buy the units next door for less than that....there are numerous examples of sellers trying to get mickey mouse amounts for nothing....

[Sunny Valentine]

Key money is a total rip off....sellers want hundreds of thousands if not millions for a few chairs and a plasma screen.....no good will as the business is failing, or they take their customers with them. Trouble is buyers just dont do the maths and aint got any experience. An example here of a guy TRYING to sell a guest house, started at 6 mil key money and is now down to 3 mil...thing is the rent alone is fixed at 60k a month for 18 years....well at 720,000 a year rent thats 12 mil, plus the key money, you could buy the units next door for less than that....there are numerous examples of sellers trying to get mickey mouse amounts for nothing....

Agree, but, as most sellers are successful with their prices sooner or later, they would be crazy not to try it.

Another issue is location. I agree that a third road or dark side location rarely ever has a value in itself, as there are lots of places either on the market or empty places easily available.

But Walking Street? If you are into opening a place there, you have to buy an existing business. So the lease (especially in case it is a good one) has a goodwill component.

[Penkoprod]

Some sucker will come along and buy these business for there asking price. It always happens.

They're the same suckers people the OP has been talking to/meeting with, and who could now be trying to salvage something from their "enterprise" by asking somewhere around what THEY paid for them perhaps

Penkoprod

[actiondell4]

Does anyone know if the Fish & Chip shop in Jomtiem is still for sale OR has it been sold.

Good business especially as the only fish and Chip shop in that area,unfortanetely asking price too high,not to mention unless you have a work visa as the current owner seems to have then you will be forking out profits to pay for staff.

Regarding the steakhouse for sale in North Pattaya for 3.5 million,unless you are more a restauranter than a enterpreuner then I would leave it alone,I imagine even Gordon Ramsay would find it difficult getting customers in this time.

The restaurant would rely on a lot of tourist trade and I imagine mostly from Western Countries which at the moment in Pattaya aint happening.

A business that I did observe that seemed to be doing well,and its only a observation,is Simple Simons in Jomtiem Beach.

Does anyone know much about this business,no its not for sale as I know of,but it seems the owner takes a very keen interest in making sure his staff do their job well and he seems to own the bar business next door.

[Jingthing]

The Ritz also sells fish and chips. Just minutes walk away from the infamous plaice on Thappraya.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Jingthing

[Globalhot]

The Ritz also sells fish and chips. Just minutes walk away from the infamous plaice on Thappraya.

All of them are living in la la land.

They bought into a false dream conjured up by real estate hounds around 2004-8.

They thought Pattaya was going to become a destination for the rich and famous.

They lied to themselves over and over and over again.......pushing reality away.

Now they are trying to get out, but still clinging on to "the dream" thinking a sucker is really born every minute.

Prices are way too high. I don't know when reality will reach them, leading to a fire sale.

[homeseeker]

Thank you OP for the interesting posting. I have been looking for an apartment or house to rent in the central pattaya area for around half a year and my experience is the same with landlord/owners and agents seeking ludicrous rental prices when it is clear supply greatly exceeds demands. Fortunately for me I am under no necessity to move until the right place comes along at the right price.

Edited July 7, 2010 by homeseeker

[chickenslegs]

The Ritz also sells fish and chips. Just minutes walk away from the infamous plaice on Thappraya.

I'm surprised this deliberate pun has gone unrecognised for 2 days.

[Aikido]

In answer to your question Globalhot i dont think these people will ever wake up to reality, for some reason they seem to be in a different world than the rest of us.

But i suppose if youve squandered all your hard earned on a pipe dream it must be hard to let go, i for one would take what i could get if i wanted out that bad.

Ive spoke to some of these so called business people in the past and they really believe their own press, poor deluded folk.

Its abit like thoses contestants on pop idol who really beleive they can sing:-).