Struggling Darley Abbey village shop closes as staff lose their jobs

The boss of a convenience store in Darley Abbey has made the difficult decision to close, saying rising costs had made the business 'unviable'. Graham Mulholland, who has been at the helm of the Darley Abbey Village Store in Abbey Lane for the past few years, claimed the decision was made after he saw prices increases from producers following the announcement of the Labour Government's Budget in October.

The shop has now been put up for sale for £200,000. Mr Mulholland, who is 50 years old and originally from Allestree, said: "The main reason [for the closure] is the loss of margin.

"We are facing costs going up and it's a very difficult space for a small independent shop. We have seen margins go down from 36% to roughly 28% then very, very quickly they dropped to 11%. It's just not viable anymore."

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Mr Mulholland said the budget had created much uncertainty for the future of the business. "I think the taxation on alcohol going up is really difficult for the shopkeeper, as well as the taxation on cigarettes, it just means we don't earn enough money," he said.

"My underlying position as a director of a limited company, was that I wasn't prepared to trade until insolvency. If we got through Christmas then to April, then we would just have been hit with all these extra costs - and when you have customers who are watching every pound it would be too hard.

"You are already seeing supermarkets raising their prices. It's just devastating for local and national businesses I don't know what they are doing."

As a result of the closure, the shop's four part-time employees and a full-time worker have been made redundant. The sale of the shop is being marketed by Ernest Wilson & Co Limited, EW Leeds.

The listing has also been posted on the Rightmove website. A statement on the listing reads: "The store is well established in this location, trading as a convenience store, bakery, deli and stocking local fresh produce. It enjoys a relatively monopoly in the area with a large residential catchment, as well as supplying local organisations with outside catering.

"It is mainly operated by staff, it has been owned by our client for nearly two years and in that time they have invested in improving the store with a smart revamp and improving operational efficiencies. Weekly turnover £11,500.

"They are only selling to concentrate on other business interests. This is a superb opportunity for an owner operator to capitalise on a revamped store and increase the net profits."