Tobacco Station Group, franchisor of over 340 retail outlets, is up for sale

The franchisor of more then 340 tobacco retail outlets is up for sale.

Tobacco Station Group (TSG) started out more than 20 years ago as a single retail outlet but has since grown to several hundred franchised stores, including more than 50 outlets in New South Wales and close to 50 outlets in Melbourne.

TSG stores sell tobacco products and accessories, as well as gift items. Some of the outlets are co-located with newsagencies and other businesses.

According to an advertisement in today’s edition of the Australian Financial Review, TSG’s business assets, including all contracts, trademarks and intellectual property, are on the market.

The ad said the TSG business generated revenue of more than $4.7 million in the 2015 financial year and has “consistently grown franchisee numbers throughout each of the past financial years”.

“Over 65% of current franchisees are secured under agreements that have between 2 and 5 years remaining and contract renewal rates have historically been high,” the ad from accounting firm Pitcher Partners said.

The number of private businesses for sale in Australia has been on the rise, with a record 41,200 private businesses for market just over 12 months ago.

More recent research, which was commissioned by American Express in November as part of the Shop Small campaign, found nearly two out of five small business owners want to sell their business.

The survey of more than 600 SME owners found one of the main reasons why entrepreneurs have an exit strategy is to ensure financial stability.

Just over 70% of the small business owners surveyed nominated financial stability as the reason they intend to sell their business.

However, 82% of SMEs said increasing costs were making it harder for them to remain self-employed.

SmartCompany contacted TSG and Pitcher Partners but did not receive a response prior to publication.