The Great British fish and chip industry is one of the key sectors in which we operate, helping hundreds of businesses around the UK purchase the equipment they need without having to resort to a costly bank loan. Whether you’re looking to start up a new business, upgrade your existing equipment, refurbish the premises or rebrand your business altogether, our friendly team is always on hand to help with your enquiries and almost always say ‘yes!’ to your finance requests.

Happy #NationalFishandChipDay from all of us at Johnson Reed!
Join us in celebrating one of our most popular specialist sectors! After 20 years facilitating finance in the fish and chip shop industry, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of equipment leased and hundreds of happy customers, we thought we’d celebrate with key players in the industry and take a day to appreciate the nation’s favourite dish.

Overlooking Collywell Bay, in the little town of Seaton Sluice (just outside Newcastle, for the uninitiated), there is a lovely restaurant called Harbour View Fisheries.
Owned by husband and wife duo Lakhver and Harjit Gill, the restaurant has been established for over 13 years, although the couple have had over 30 years experience in the trade. The restaurant itself seats 48 inside, with plenty of outdoor seats, and caters for takeaways also. And in case dinner leaves you still a little hungry, there is an ice cream parlour nextdoor also owned by Lakhver.

When experienced businessman Mr Spiros Bojouri recently took over the established fish and chip shop The Seagull’s Ocean Boat in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, he had plans to improve this popular business.
Understanding quality is important in the catering industry he decided to completely revamp this fish bar and take away. This included replacing the old fryer with a new bespoke Hopkins four-pan high-efficiency country frying range and having a custom made curved glass hot and cold display cabinet built.

In the little village of Sherburn, North Yorkshire, couple John and Rita Worthy are quietly building a little business empire, spanning a local post office, sandwich shop/deli, factory canteen, and now, next in the line of new ventures, a local chip shop!

Known locally for their sandwich shop’s large selection of delicious pies and sandwiches located within the post office, and their service with a smile, the Worthys are no strangers to the food trade.

Mr Worthy also happens to operate a canteen in a local factory site that employs 400 staff, so he himself employs 3 full time staff on site at the cafe.

The Marketplace Fish Bar is a well-established father and son operation, having been traded in the family for 30 years, and has an excellent reputation locally for incredible food and excellent customer service. The restaurant has recently undergone a full refurbishment, and now looks stunning!

We were approached by The Marketplace to help them get equipment finance for a new frying range to help continue making the renowned food, and to help the owners pay for the premesis refurbishment, rather than having to fork out upfront cash lumps for equipment. By using leasing, The Marketplace can use their operational budget to pay for the equipment over a fixed period of time, rather than having to pay upfront. This also gives some pretty great tax benefits!

We posted a case study last month about The Rock and Sole Plaice, a well-established and famous fish and chip shop in Covent Garde, London.

Well today we are delighted to hear that they plan on continuing their expansion in central London by opening a new fishmongers nextdoor! We are all waiting in anticipation for news about when it’ll be ready, and we’ll keep you posted!

In the mean time, we couldn’t help but show you a picture of their quality food, which Johnson Reed director Mark Johnson thoroughly enjoyed when he visited!

In just under 2 months takeaway owners from across the country will descend into London for the biggest takeaway expo in the country. Over 5,000 takeaway owners are expected to attend, and with many business owners and entrepreneurs exhibiting, all trying to pitch for their much sought-after business.

Topics of discussion over the exhibition will include health & safety, restaurant furniture, catering equipment, the growing use of technology, social media, food marketing, franchising, and more.

AT LAST!! Common Sense in the Finance Market

Johnson Reed Chip Shop Finance are offering a full range of finance options tailored for the chip shop and take away industry. With the present economic climate combined with the reduced lending from the banks some companies are still finding it difficult to move forward when it comes to financing their new frying range.

Johnson Reed have 15 years of experience in helping companies gain the equipment leasing and hire purchase they need to expand and grow. With the backing of their own funds and access to 13 independent lenders, many of which are none high street names, they can provide maximum flexibility in terms of achieving acceptances and providing very competitive prices that will complement any existing banking relationship. Director, Mark Johnson commented; acceptance rates are currently running at a fantastic 92% and we can have decisions approved within hours!

When the recession started battering Neil Battye’s building business, he decided the time had come to start battering fish instead – particularly as his wife Jo and their respective families had past experience in running fish and chip shops and catering establishments across the country. There’s a secret family recipe for their batter as well, … Read more