Topic: New shop for trowbridge

[Debs]

⭐New Shop Opening Soon⭐     in trowbridge by the old post office

Baby clothing - Premature and upwards.

Traditional toys.

Personalised embroidered gifts.

 Handmade Pompom baby blankets

Opening day to be announced 🙂
For those who have fb here is the link for the page.
This is my daughters business. Its been mainly markets, pop up shops and fayres and online so far for the past 2 years.  She has rebranded and now going into premises.   Unique signs and graphics  ( based in trowbridge) have put in window coverings while its being worked on inside.   

https://www.facebook.com/TinyToesBabyBoutique2019/

I obviously wish her all the best in this next stage

[baldy]

Good luck to your daughter.

As a Commercial Property GP Chartered Surveyor looking at the photo of the shop in your post, I immediately noticed the cracked mortar in the front block wall over the recessed window / entrance frontage.  This may be no big issue if the steel lintel or reinforced concrete beam inside the wall is OK and the blocks just need new mortar, but I would want to know exactly what caused this before entering into any legal contract that involves any responsibility for paying any maintenance or repairs for the shop building.

I would only trust a Chartered Building Surveyor to identify the correct cause of this type of structural problem as they understand the engineering works needed and the tests required to ensure all is well. Any other type of surveyor would be guessing to some extent about what's happening inside. A local Building Surveyor would then know which builders can do a decent job ...   A residential surveyor or GP or Valuation or Quantity Surveyor would not have the correct training to get to the exact diagnosis via the correct tests or inspections ...

I know that many small or one wo/man band or start-up businesses do not use professional advice from a surveyor when taking a business lease or licence to occupy small premises so if your daugher is entering any sort of arrangement that involves paying for external or structural repairs or maintenance, she needs to look at this point very carefully first. Better still she needs a non-repairing lease where the Landlord only is responsible or even better a simple licence to occupy that makes plain that all repairs are the landlord's responsibility.

A lot of new business folk with no real experience of business leases get caught out with long and complex business leases that say on one hand that the Landlord is responsible for external and structural repairs (possibly also saying that the tenant is responsible for the fascia and window) but buried deep in the lease are service charge provisions where the Landlord can recover all his expenses including all repairs and maintenance. 

This trap occurs all the time including when solictors are used by the tenant to sort the lease, especially when they are local solicitors working from small practices in small country towns.

I've seen this happen when the person I know says it's a non-repairing lease so no problem. Then sometime later I get to see the lease and realise that it's a long document for a standard commercial business lease that - as usual - puts a full repairing and insurance liability on the tenant via a comprehensive service charge recovery clause. In fact, when I've pointed it out some folk have actually gone into complete denial and blamed someone else who they claimed dealt with their solicitors and has lost their own correspondence file with the solicitors ... which then allows the solicitors for the tenant to say that they were never asked to ensure a non-repairing lease etc in the first place.

[Bob DeBilda]

As a Commercial Property GP Chartered Surveyor looking at the photo of the shop in your post, I immediately noticed the cracked mortar in the front block wall over the recessed window / entrance frontage. 

Not to mention the bullet holes 

[baldy]

I think some of the other marks on the upper blockwork such as the holes and horizontal dirty line look like they were probably caused by the installation of and then removal of an awning or simply a fascia panel (with the name of a previous business).

I don't think the awning or fascia/ name panel caused the blockwork to crack, though.

I think something has made the beam sag. 

If the wall faced south towards a hot sun, I might suspect the lack of an expansion joint has started the crack but I think this building faces north(ish).

[Debs]

Thanks for your input , i shall show this to her partner

I do know landlord / owner is responsible for repairs

[Debs]

Thos was the front boarding that was removed a fortnight ago .    The holes were from the sign . 
But thanks again 

[baldy]

I now realise which building this is. It faces south west so the idea that the sun might be involved in causing the crack remains a possibility but I don't really know as it could be caused by all sorts of possibilities.

One possibility is the pitched roof behind the parapet wall spreading sideways a bit causing the beam to move sideways out a bit - I'm just guessing now.

When you say the landlord is responsible for repairs, my key point is that this is something that needs to go beyond what the tenant thinks to being clearly written in the licence / lease without any clawback by the landlord via a service charge clause.  There are tenants going around with what they think are non-repairing leases who then realise it is actually a standard fully repairing business lease where the tenant pays absolutely everything because they have to repay the landlord when he does his repairs to cover all his costs and the landlord controls what is spent and who does the work when the repairs are done ...

[Bob DeBilda]

Bit ironic that the crack is in a block wall that was once occupied by an insurance broker. Presumably they didn't have insurance to get it repaired? But that's typical insurance companies for you. Always wriggling out of paying claims!

[Bob DeBilda]

Oh I forgot to say Debs. I hope your daughters baby business booms !  (baby boomer) 

There used to be one down Maristow Street that I was always in with Mrs DeBilda getting stuff for the grandies. That was a great shop.

[Shizzy]

There used to be one down Maristow Street that I was always in with Mrs DeBilda getting stuff for the grandies. That was a great shop.

So did I, really disappointed when I turned up one day to find it closed.

[baldy]

Bit ironic that the crack is in a block wall that was once occupied by an insurance broker. Presumably they didn't have insurance to get it repaired? But that's typical insurance companies for you. Always wriggling out of paying claims!

I assume that no-one saw the crack until the name board came off 2 weeks ago.  It is for the landlord to sort this out now. They might have the previous tenant on the hook via the previous lease if it was a fully repairing lease.

[Debs]

Oh I forgot to say Debs. I hope your daughters baby business booms !  (baby boomer) 

There used to be one down Maristow Street that I was always in with Mrs DeBilda getting stuff for the grandies. That was a great shop.

Thank you  .  us too .   This is going to be different to the one in maristow street. This is all new items. No secondhand.  Katy is specializing in tiny and newborn / preemie babys mostly but other sizes available.  She  will be embroidering a lot of her items on request. Hopefully braching out to work logos / branding etc. There will also be handmade baby items.   My pom pom baby blankets and baby hats.

[Debs]

Well !,  the shop opened on feb 1st . So has been opened for just over a month . She is doing well so far.  Im very proud 9f what they have achieved so far between her and her partner gregg . Owner from unique signs and graphics.   He obviously does all the signs, posters , leaflets and business cards etc and a very good  job he has done..    all painted out inside and new shelving and units . It certainly doesnt look like the empty shop it was previously.
 If you haVe facebook then search tiny toes baby boutique to see all katy has to offer.    She starts from prem sizes upwards.. the age range will probably go higher once she has been there a bit longer and gauges what people want by their comments. So far comments have been encouraging and lovely. She also does a range of personalized  items with your choice of picture and text .which she does herself.  Rattles, taggies, teethers, hats,  bunnies and teddies, sunhats, gloves, boottes , my handmade pompom wool bany blankets and crochet lightweight blankets as well .traditional wooden toys .That is just a small selection  of what is in the shop.  She is able to post and i am able to bring items already paid for to my house for you to pick up if easier.   IF YOU HAVE BABIES, GRANDCHILDREN , GODCHILDREN PAY THE SHOP A VISIT, YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINTED.
Ive included some photos so you can see for yourself if youre interested.  .        GIFT VOUCHERS NOW AVAILABLE

[Shizzy]

Looks good debs, I will check it out, get some stuff for the grand kids

[Debs]

Looks good debs, I will check it out, get some stuff for the grand kids

Thanks shizzy .   Im well proud of her and what she has achieved in the past 4 yrs ... the shop and her embroidered items has taken off well since opening 1st feb .