Are you looking to lease or buy a commercial property for your food business?
Before you sign the lease or purchase agreement, it’s important to get a pre-lease/pre-sale food business compliance audit from independent food licence experts, Food Agent Australia.
Why? Avoid wasting money on hidden and unnecessary costs!
In this article, we’ll share three (3) benefits of booking a food business compliance audit before you agree to rent or buy a space with kitchen facilities.
Benefit 1: Assurance that the place you lease is good for your business
Not all food businesses are alike.
And this means that not all food businesses require the same fittings and fixtures to be compliant with your local council. The nature of the food you are preparing and selling will influence the back-of-house equipment required.
So, how do you know what you do need? Although local council websites are there to help, they often don’t provide all the information needed and can be difficult to navigate A Pre-lease Food Business Compliance Audit ensures you not only know what your food business needs to be compliant, but it also shows you whether the property is ideal for your needs (saving you time and money).
Benefit 2: You can negotiate better leasing or purchase agreements
It’s rare to find a premise that ticks every box for the correct fittings, and fixtures (also factoring in location and your desired patrons). This often means increased costs for business owners to get the premises up to code or to meet their operational needs.
With a Pre-lease/Pre-sale Food Business Compliance Audit, a food business owner can help increase their negotiation power. This allows them to potentially save on their ongoing lease arrangements or alternatively, negotiate responsibilities for alterations needed to make the premises compliant
Benefit 3: Transparency between third parties
At Food Agent Australia, we work closely with real estate brokers, landlords, councils, and other third-party stakeholders.
We pride ourselves on being client-side project managers that ensure everyone involved in the lease agreement does their part compliantly. We act as your confidant, an independent sounding board to help things run smoothly and offer suggestions from our professional experience spanning 20+ years in the industry.
Three scenarios following a pre-lease/pre-sale compliance audit
Generally, there are 3 outcomes of a Food Agent compliance audit that will help determine whether that property is appropriate for your food business.
These are:
- The property is in good condition and there are minimal rectification works, only general upkeep and maintenance of the property
- The property requires a bit more work (such as fixing deteriorated floors, adding extra sinks, etc.) before it can be ready for your food business to open.
- The property doesn’t meet your business needs from an operational point of view and investing in changes doesn’t financially make sense
Whatever the outcome, a pre-lease food business compliance audit gives you a comprehensive and independent assessment of what’s best for your business before you sign the lease. In turn, saving you time, hassle, and extra outlay that comes with making your premises compliant for your food business and gaining your food business licence.
