When Dan Garthwaite was looking for a lifestyle and career change, he didn’t have to look any further than ABC Business Sales.
He did however have to explain to his wife and young daughters they’d have to look a long way south on the map from their Auckland home to see where they were heading.
Paradise… on the edge of Fiordland’s wilderness, Te Anau.
Dan and wife Nicki are the proud new owners of the Te Anau Mitre 10, making the move from New Zealand’s largest city to a much smaller town – part of a growing ‘regional drift’ trend noticed ABC Business Sales.
“I didn’t care where, I just knew I wanted to get out of Auckland,” Garthwaite said.
Dan’s previous corporate role meant two hours a day in city traffic to and from work - now he has a four-minute commute. During the first week in their new Te Anau home, he also kept taking photos of the view across the lake before realising that he didn’t have to — it wasn’t going anywhere.
And ‘not going anywhere’ was also the impression the previous owners of the Mitre 10 gave, having run the business for the last 32 years.
But Jocelyn and Neil Hodges couldn’t be more impressed with the way local ABC Business Sale broker, Donna Harpur-Swain, guided them through the eventual sale process.
“It’s a huge step and a lot of planning to bring a business you’ve nurtured for more than three decades to market. Donna made that process seamless for us, keeping us fully informed every step of the way.”
Jocelyn and Neil are part of another increasing trend of boomer-business owners entering their own lifestyle change and bringing their blue-chip businesses to ABC for sale.
In fact, Donna has another half dozen quality 20+ year-owned businesses on her books across the Southland and Otago region alone, ranging from construction to retail, having recently also sold the ITM in Winton – another 30+ year family owned business.
Dan and Nicki don’t know if they quite have 30 years ahead of them with their new enterprise in paradise, but between the view, the commute and a happy family, they’re certainly not in a hurry to go anywhere.
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