Find premises
Laundromat
Suburban New Zealand
How a laundromat operator secured the right site with no rent until the doors opened
The result
$0
in rent or holding costs from signing the lease to opening day, on a prime suburban site chosen to the operator’s brief.
in rent or holding costs from signing the lease to opening day, on a prime suburban site chosen to the operator’s brief.
At a glance
Client
A self-service laundromat operator
Sector
Laundromat (Service Provider)
Location
Suburban New Zealand
Service
Find premises (+ lease negotiation)
The brief
Find a prime, accessible suburban site for a new laundromat and secure it on the right terms.
The situation
For a laundromat, the site is the business
Convenience is the whole proposition: knock out a week’s washing while you grab a coffee nearby. That only works if the laundromat is easy to get to and easy to spot. For this operator, location and accessibility decide whether it runs busy or empty.
So before committing to anything, the operator engaged Proactive Property Group to find the right premises and secure it on terms that made the numbers work.
What was at stake
The wrong site, or the wrong terms, and a laundromat struggles from day one
A laundromat lives on foot traffic and repeat local customers. Pick a site that’s hard to reach or hard to see, and no fit-out fixes it. The location decision is made once, and the business lives with it for the whole lease.
The terms matter just as much. A laundromat carries a heavy fit-out and a slow ramp-up while locals discover it. Start paying full rent from the day you sign, months before you can open, and the costs stack up before a single machine earns anything.
Get either wrong, the site or the deal, and the business starts on the back foot.
What we did
Brief it tightly, search hard, then negotiate the runway
Marcus from Proactive Property Group worked with the operator to define exactly what a good site looked like, find it, and secure it on terms built for a business that needs time to ramp up.
01
Build a tight premises brief
Turned the operator’s location, accessibility and site requirements into a clear brief for an optimal suburban location, so the search targeted only sites that could actually work.
02
Search and shortlist the market
Scanned the market for premises that fit the brief, assessed and shortlisted them, and put a short list of viable options in front of the operator to choose from.
03
Negotiate the commercial terms
On the preferred site, negotiated future rent and operating costs, and secured landlord contributions toward the premises upgrades the laundromat needed.
04
Kill the holding costs
Structured the deal so there was no rent from signing the Agreement to Lease until the laundromat opened, so the operator wasn’t paying for a space it couldn’t yet trade from.
The result
The right site, on terms built for a slow start
The operator secured a prime suburban site on a well-negotiated lease, with a cost structure to match a new laundromat finding its feet:
The right suburban site
A prime, accessible location chosen to the brief.
No holding costs before opening
No rent from signing the lease until the doors opened.
Six months rent-free after launch
Cost relief while locals discovered the laundromat.
Landlord contributions to upgrades
The landlord helped fund the premises upgrades.
Structured rent increases
Predictable occupancy cost across the term.
No personal guarantees
The operator’s personal assets kept out of the lease.
For a laundromat, the site and the terms are one decision. The location brings the customers, and the rent-free runway gives the business time to build a base before the full cost kicks in.
The operator engaged Proactive Property Group to source their next two laundromats.
If you’re hunting for premises
The site you pick decides how many customers walk in, and the terms you sign decide how long you can afford to wait for them. Get the brief right before you search, and negotiate the rent-free runway before you commit, and a new business starts with room to breathe instead of a bill it can’t yet cover.
About the adviser
Marcus Bosch
Marcus has spent 20 years acting for tenants across New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia — finding premises, negotiating leases and managing property costs across the full lease lifecycle. Having sat on both sides of the table as landlord and tenant, he negotiates commercial terms most tenants only sign once or twice in the life of their business.
More about Marcus and Proactive Property Group →
More proof
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Off-market sites across the South Island, sourced and secured on more competitive terms than competitors, to extend a retail fuel network built over 70 years.
$0 in holding costs before a laundromat’s doors opened
in rent or holding costs from signing the lease to opening day, on a prime suburban site chosen to the operator’s brief.
This was finding premises. It’s one stage of our commercial lease advisory Services.
- Find premises
- Negotiate lease
- Design, consents & fit-out
Looking for the right premises?
The site decides who walks in, and the terms decide how long you can back yourself. Tell me what you need and I’ll find it and secure it, on terms built for how your business actually ramps up.