Sproot

Opened its first shop in Islington in 2022

about sproot

Angus always dreamed of opening his own restaurant. The idea behind Sproot came from years spent working in kitchens in Sydney and London. The concept was to be a healthy, fast-food restaurant, serving seasonal salad bowls, specialty coffee, smoothies, breakfast and pastries for takeaway, delivery, and dine-in. Targeting London office workers, tourists and locals looking for a quick and healthy meal. Having created a limited company, the time had come to start looking for a property and turn his idea into a reality.

sproot's challenge

Sproot’s biggest challenge was one faced by the majority of small businesses looking to rent their first shop. Landlords want reliable tenants that will pay the rent on time and sustain it for the duration of the lease. To gauge reliability, they look at track record and proof of concept. Unfortunately if you are a startup, like Sproot, you have little proof or evidence to show landlords that your business will be successful. So when it came to making an offer and negotiating lease terms, Sproot consistently found that landlords favoured more established businesses over them.

what we did for sproot:

We were approached by Angus and Sproot in 2021 to help with its property search. The first thing we did was provide Angus with a landlord pack template and advised he create one for Sproot. A landlord pack is similar to a pitch deck. It displays the company’s vision and concept, the products they will be selling, the backstory, USP and sometimes a business plan. The purpose is to elevate the brand and ultimately increase the chances of potential landlords choosing Sproot as their tenant over the competition.

We also found that Sproot needed our help in other areas. We were happy to provide a step-by-step guide showing what was required throughout the leasing process right from the initial property search all the way through to the first day of trade. This allowed them to plan ahead and ultimately save time

Using our Location Insight tool, Angus was able to analyse the demographics and footfall of the locations he was considering for Sproots first restaurant. He thought Islington would work well. Using the Location Insight tool he was able to back up his gut instinct with science by analysing the population in the area by age group, size, sex, average household income, professions, unemployment rates, number of students, retirees, and many other variables. Combined with footfall data he was able to forecast potential turnover.

Having found a property in Islington, Angus was able to impress the landlord and get them to buy into his vision of how Sproot would use the space and serve the surrounding community. The time had come to submit an offer.

the results

After a few weeks of negotiations and with our guidance, Angus had managed to agree a 9 month rent free incentive and a 3rd year tenant only break clause. The rent free period gave Angus ample time to get his store design built and allow for several months of trade before the rent kicked in. The 3rd year tenant only break clause limited his risk, as it enabled him to end the lease after 3 years, rather than waiting until the 10 year lease ended.

Sproot successfully opened its healthy grab and go restaurant in 2021 and since opening has 122 google reviews all of which are rated 5 stars. We’ve pulled 3 reviews to show you below.

“The place you go when you want to feel good. The space and seating area has loads of natural light, is airy and inviting. Customer service incredibly friendly, and the salad bowl I had (no 10) was 10/10”

“Bowls are great, but this is the best coffee in Angel! I tried them all, trust me.”

“Loved this place! Will definitely become a frequent customer 😉 coffee is amazing. Food is super healthy and delicious. Great addition to Islington”

Sproot has since rebranded to Bewliehill, and due to the success in Islington, is already looking for its second store in London. Now the brand has its proof of concept and foundations in place, the second site will be easier by comparison.

"Hatch found me a property and guided me on the whole leasing process."
Angus,
Founder of Sproot/Bewliehill