available for sale is a modern, purpose built driving range on the outskirts of carlisle. It is the only driving range in the city and has an even wide catchment area. It has excellent infrastructure in place and has a turnover of approximately £250,000p.a. As part of this the business also runs the golf shop at a nearby golf club. The range was custom built in late 2006. It has the following facilities • the range itself extents to over 350 yards with various targets. New drains were put in 2006. • 11 bays with tru-strike mats, fully carpeted. Cantilever roof. • fully enclosed and separate teaching bay with video lighting, camera brackets. Explanar trainer and junior explanar. • floodlit to 250 yards • huxley carpet green, with bunker and chipping mats. Floodlit. • simulator room fitted with sports coach simulator with a range of courses including st andrews • large shop. 1,400 square feet, slack wall fitting all round plus central display. • golf fitting workshop • garage • ball dispenser – tokens and digi-cards • ball washer, ball elevator • putting green • car parking for 30 + cars shop the shop is well stocked and has the following main brands • cobra • titleist • cleveland • taylormade • callaway • mizuno • srixon the shop sells hardware (drivers and irons); clothing, accessories, balls – the full range of golf products. Currently, the range is a member of the foremost buying group, although it maintains direct relationships with some suppliers. Clothing and footwear are provided through fullshot clothing. The deal with fullshot is that the range takes 24% of clothing sales but does not purchase stock. These relationships can be terminated. Second hand clubs taken as trade-in’s are sold on to a trade partner. The range makes no margin on this service but carries no second hand stock and therefore has no price risk. All stock is current. The walls and central island have slack wall fittings. Repairs and custom fitting the range is quite unique in that it has a large workshop on site fitted with the following equipment • loft and lie machine • gripping station • tools for repairs • equipment for measuring swing weights and shaft stiffness the workshop is as well equipped as a club manufacturer’s. The staff are well trained in club repair. There is a swing speed machine and the simulator is also used for club fitting. The range has cobra and titleist fitting carts. Teaching the range currently takes 20% of lesson income from the pro’s. The pro’s provide their own camera and laptop. There is a solid base of lessons drawn from a variety of clubs in the area. External golf shop the range has a contract to run the golf shop at a local club. £1,000 a month is paid and the shop facilities are provided free. The only costs that the range has are wages and a telephone line. The shop is open 7 days a week in the summer and 5 days in the winter. The golf club has 800 members. It has open competitions and regular visitors. The shop stocks mainly clothes, drinks, accessories and balls. It has a small range of clubs. The shop does well selling clothes, drinks, balls and accessories. Clothes are provided through fullshot clothing. Members also come to the range for lessons and club purchase. The shop is given prize funds and holds members accounts. The contract can be included or excluded from the sale. Equipment: the main assets are include within the sale price and comprise: • tractor and ball collector ( bought new 2008) • grass cutter (bought second hand 2008) • ball dispenser, washer and elevator. The ball dispenser takes tokens and digi-cards (2006) • full set of workshop equipment – loft and lie machine, shadow graph machine, gripping station, complete set of hand tools (various) • golf simulator from sports coach (2006) • digipol till and epos system –terminal manager software (2006) • dell computer with sage line 50 accounts (2006) • explanar training aid and junior explanar (2006) • vending machine and display fridge (2006) customer service: customer service is key to this business. As part of this it enjoys the following accreditations: • one of the first ranges to be awarded egu’s range mark – a quality standard for driving ranges aimed at encouraging junior golf • cobra fitting centre • cleveland wedge centre key strengths: the range is modern, has excellent facilities, limited competition and has multiple revenue streams available to it. It is very accessible and has ample parking. There are very few ranges in the country that have the levels of equipment this business enjoys. Growth and expansion: this business benefits from a large catchment area. Customers come from as far as west cumbria, southern scotland and northumberland. Within this area there are in excess of 15 golf clubs, the majority of which do not have a pro or golf shop. There is only one other golf shop in carlisle and two local pro’s have shop at their clubs. There is one other driving range attached to a club 5 miles to the east of carlisle. This is poorly equipped without the benefit of any shop. The local council did operate a range in the city but this closed due to flooding. The council have re-opened an uncovered range in its place. Key opportunities: by their own admission the vendors are aware the range has been poorly run to date and needs competent and enthusiastic management. • the custom base can be extended to capture a wider range of customers • the egu is offering a lot of support for golf development. There are many schools in carlisle and the range ought to capture this revenue stream • purchasing, stock control and margins could be better managed • the teaching facilities could be better utilised • the club repair business could be better exploited. The workshop could support a lot more work. • the external golf shop arrangement could be extended to other clubs without shops or pro’s. This could be either through a permanent shop or ad hoc sales. The scope is particularly good for dumfries where there are several clubs and no shops. The range is the most convenient shop for them, being so close to the m6. • the external shop could be better exploited, especially to increase hardware sales • better use of the internet
