Stocktaker in London

Stocktaking in London

London has the densest concentration of independent convenience stores, off licences and Post Office branches anywhere in the UK, and premises change hands quickly. Most of our London work is business transfer stocktaking, where completion dates move at short notice and a stocktaker has to attend at close of trade with little warning. We cover all 32 boroughs and the City, and because sites are close together we can often attend same-week.

The London trade

London premises tend to be small-footprint and high-turnover, with a heavy weighting toward tobacco, alcohol and chilled lines. Shop units are often cramped with stock held in basements or above the shop, so counts take longer per square foot than elsewhere. Congestion Charge and ULEZ zones affect attendance times, and we plan counts around them rather than passing the cost on.

Counting stock in London

London counts are planned around access before anything else. Loading restrictions on red routes, residents-only parking in most inner boroughs, and the Congestion Charge and ULEZ zones all shape what time a team can realistically be on site. We schedule central counts for the window after close of trade or before the morning delivery round, and we absorb zone charges rather than itemising them. For shops with basement or above-shop stock rooms — common across inner London — we allow extra time, because stock held on three levels of a narrow building takes materially longer to count than the same volume on one floor.

The businesses we count in London

Convenience stores and newsagents

Small footprint, very high line count, with stock overflowing into basements and stairwells. Counting is slow per square foot and fast per pound of stock value.

Off licences

Heavy spirits and wine weighting, with a long tail of slow-moving premium lines that need individual pricing rather than a shelf sweep.

Post Office branches

Retail stock sits alongside Post Office assets, and the two must be kept strictly separate in the valuation. We report them as distinct schedules.

Licensed premises

Cellar and bar stock on transfer, where draught measures and part-used bottles are valued alongside the packaged range.

When to book a stocktake in London

London business transfers move faster and less predictably than anywhere else we work. Completion dates are frequently brought forward by a day or two at solicitor level, and because our London sites sit close together we can usually absorb that. Evening counts at close of trade are the norm rather than the exception, and we hold weekend capacity because a significant share of London convenience premises trade seven days.

Areas of London we cover

We attend premises from the City and West End out to the suburban high streets — Walthamstow, Peckham, Tooting, Wood Green, Harrow and the parades either side of the North and South Circular.

• Westminster
• Camden
• Islington
• Hackney
• Tower Hamlets
• Southwark
• Lambeth
• Wandsworth
• Ealing
• Brent
• Croydon
• Barnet
• Newham
• Haringey

Towns we also cover from London

Watford, Romford, Bromley, Kingston upon Thames, Enfield and Ilford are all covered from our London coverage, again with no additional travel charge.