Posted:05-January-2018
Their employees liked it so much, they bought the business!
Sarah Richardson owner of Petpals Stockport for the last fourteen years, recently sold her franchise to two former employees.
Sarah (55), bought her Petpals franchise following a long-term, management role with a mail-order company. She left when fluctuating markets found her having to make people redundant on a regular basis, which made her rethink what she really wanted out of life. She convinced her boss to add her to the list of redundancies and, on the advice of a financial advisor, looked at franchising opportunities in the UK. Following intense research via the bfa (British Franchise Association), Sarah used her redundancy money to buy Petpals Stockport in 2003.
Fast forward to 2017 and Sarah has now divided up the business into three new territories and sold Poynton and Stockport East to Ian and Linda Parker and Petpals Stockport and Petpals Cheadle and Bramhall to Claire Hurr.
Sarah explains why she sold the business,
‘Right from the very beginning my plan has always been to build up the business then sell it, so this is simply the final step in the plan. I worked very hard for 14 years, I had built the business up to where I wanted it to be, I’d sacrificed much of my personal life but this is what it was all for, eventual financial freedom and the chance to spend more time doing the things I wanted to do.
She continued,
‘I had some family issues last year that made me realise time with our loved ones is very precious so that, plus a desire to buy a house with my partner and spend a bit more time together, made the final decision to sell an easy one. I am delighted that my employees were so committed to the business that they wanted to buy it and could see the potential in taking their respective territories to new heights.’
A few years ago Sarah also took on the extra role as northern operations manager for Petpals, using her vast experience to help other franchisees in the north of the country, a role that she will be continuing for the foreseeable future.
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