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02
Apr
Couple put Boroughbridge Post Office up for sale after 23 years
Boroughbridge Post Office has been put up for sale by the couple who have run it for more than two decades.
Karen and Nigel Hamilton-Evans announced via Facebook that they were moving on, calling it a “difficult decision”.
Addressing customers, they posted:
It's not a decision we've taken lightly, but we feel that the time is right for us as a couple and for the next chapter of this much-loved Post Office.
We are incredibly proud of what Boroughbridge Post Office has become over the years, a trusted and familiar part of daily life in the town.
That pride comes entirely from you – your loyalty, your support and the countless everyday conversations that have meant so much to us.
They added:
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting your local Post Office. We will continue to give our very best to you every day and we will keep you updated.
'Good numbers'
The sale of the grade two listed property on Horsefair includes the post office itself, plus three-bedroom accommodation above, garden, garden room, outhouse and a carport large enough for four vehicles.
It is on the market with an asking price of £675,000.
Steve Riley, of Christie & Co, the agent handling the sale, told the Stray Ferret that the business boasted “good numbers”, with Post Office commissions of £100,000 a year, plus annual turnover of other stock to the tune of £76,000.
He said:
Post offices took a bit of a battering after the Horizon IT scandal [when accounting errors caused by faulty software led to the wrongful prosecution of more than 900 subpostmasters for theft and fraud] – people wouldn’t touch them for love or money – but they’re coming back now.
This one is slightly unusual in that it’s purely a post office, with no convenience store attached. But that means there’s plenty of potential.
You could expand out the back and add new retail lines, and you could convert the outhouses subject to planning consent.
In their Facebook post, the vendors said that nothing would change day to day, and the post office would continue to operate as normal.
Mr Riley added:
The vendors want it to remain as a post office and continue to serve the community, so it’s vitally important that we find the right buyer.
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