Catering mobile

For sale is our beloved Bootlegger Bus, a mobile events bar business.

A very sad and reluctant sale on our part, but a change in circumstances has made the sale necessary.

My cousin and I (business partners) spent three years from 2017 converting the bus into its current operational status, before launching the business just prior the pandemic hit two years ago – not the best timing!

Despite the very difficult uphill struggle being a new business during the COVID situation, we attended some very prestigious events and drew more attention and momentum whilst doing so. We attended BBC Gardeners World, Chilli & Cheese Festival, Lymington Seafood Festival, British Street Food Awards, Dogstival and this year’s Glastonbury Festival plus many more.

Current annual 12-month turnover is over £120,000+ – we achieved this having only attended minimal events and declining many others. We kept the majority of our events to within radius 50 miles from our base in Portsmouth so we are very proud of the turnover. The new ownership will be able to make use of our established client list and take advantage of the increased supply of events further afield. 

Our highest daily taking was just over £17k+ in a single day, with 6 staff in operation.

The bus has gained lots of attention in the wedding industry which would be a highly lucrative sector to expand into, due to being paid in cash upfront and taking sales payments on the day. London has an extremely high density of events which are typically outside our radius, which would be another lucrative opportunity. Furthermore, an alternative to singular events would be moving into a seasonal summer or winter semi-permeant proposition, which would provide a brilliant financial opportunity for the new owner.

Our business bank account currently has +£34k balance, however these funds will be excluded from the scope of the sale, this has been highlighted to show the business is profitable and holds money. 

This is a VAT registered LTD company. The current controls in place have warranted a 5* star hygiene rating from the local authority. A file detailing the safe working practices, risk assessments and all aspects involving compliant operation will be supplied. This is requested by all prestigious events and has been updated and improved as the business has grown.  

General Information

The bus is equipped with top of the range (8 +2 line) draught equipment which cost us several thousand to implement. Many alterations, revisions and reinvestments mean we now have a very reliable and dependable high-capacity bar. The bus is capable of handling high demand as we have compared and improved against other mobile bars we’ve worked with, to ensure it is class leading and streamlined. Our spirit rack holds optics to further improve speed of service and efficiency. We have engineered the systems to be as efficient and reliable as possible. We have plumbed our coolers to create redundancy and run extra python cooling lines throughout all our draught systems.

 A rack holding optics for our range of spirits also greatly improves speed and efficiency. For additional capacity we also have a top of the range Lindr 150 dual line dispenser which cost us over £1k which is included.

The Bootlegger Bus image is of a ‘speakeasy style’, musically themed bar. Customers are met with a full-size illuminated piano that has been converted to pour 4 ice cold draughts and an electric guitar adapted to pour another 4 draught lines. The serving area is a worktop made from classic records and each bulkhead is a collage of album artwork and records. Music is broadcast externally through two outdoor speakers, mounted either side of the serving hatch, with four internal bulkhead speakers too. We have a dual till system allowing for 2 ques to to be served at a time, which we found greatly improves efficiency, combined with our Wi-Fi hub and antenna system for fast transactions.

Mechanical information

The bus has only covered a mere 85k miles. These engines are known to easily exceed over 500k without any significant work. The mechanicals were all well maintained in its life previously as a campervan. The engine is a 9L diesel engine which we happily cruise along at 50mph with plenty in reserve. Due to new regulations, we were required to change all 6 of the tyres, this came as a significant expense however these will not need any attention for years.

The bus has recently been serviced with new brake lines all round, brake fluid, new tyres, new power steering gearbox, all new filters, all new oils/fluids in engine, gearbox, steering box, brake lines, and rear dif. Complete with new batteries inside and out. Mechanically it wants for nothing, the engine starts every time and has never given us an issue. Its lovely to drive and gets serious attention wherever it goes, these engines were renowned for there reliability. 

The bus is finished in Gloss two-pack bumblebee yellow and black with an off-white roof. This is not the standard dull paint these buses are usually finished in. We opted for this colour scheme as we wanted it to really stand out, the paint and preparation took us around three months to fully complete. The underside was also taken back and fully treated with underseal. More features include a pop out alloy serving hatch, a light up bar sign, top of the range Denon/focal sound system, solid oak floor, high speed WIFI, hot and cold running water and a pine clad roof interior with four focal built-in speakers.

Another point worth mentioning, the bus sailed through its last MOTs from a respectable DAF MOT Lorry station. This further points to its superb overall condition when taking into consideration its’ 40 year old classic status. The bus will be an official ‘classic vehicle’ in the next few months meaning it will be exempt from road tax and MOT.

The V5 is also registered as 3501kg from its previous owner having it changed on the V5 following an IVA test, allowing people with car licences from pre 1997 to drive it (the previous owner had it changed so his wife could drive it on her licence), we are both HGV licensed so it was irrelevant for us. The other option is using a low loader, like we did for Glastonbury Festival. This offers peace of mind and only cost us £1000 for both ways, which is extremely reasonable considering fuel cost time an effort etc. The company we used is located where we keep the Bus, so could easily arrange It to be dropped to your new location should you wish not to drive it. 

Electrical information

What’s Included

• Fully restored International Wayne Bus (Worth £50k+)
• 2014 Mercedes LWB sprinter Fridge van (Ice cold chilling, recently serviced, new battery, solar trickle charge, tow bar and hazard lights fitted) (worth at least £7k+)
• All equipment and decorations inside and out (Worth £7-8k)
• 3kv Diesel Generator (Cost us £500)
• 2023 Up and coming events/contracts list
• Events contact sheet with over 200 events listed
• Bespoke engineered alloy platform (This fits nicely up on a rack inside the van, optimising space) (Cost was £1k) - (Just for info: the one in the photo is an old design, our new alloy one looks and works great!)
• Our Bootlegger Horse Box (colour coordinated with the bus), we designed this so you can tow it on a 750kg licence alone, its only around 350kg in dry weight. The trailer comes fitted with a certified 16a fuse box and 4 sockets inside and 16amp connection. We ended up towing it with the van using it for increased storage at events, it could however be converted into a stand-alone stall. (Value approx. £1-2k)
• Our full transfer over to: bank accounts, online bookkeeping accounts, emails, business folders & paperwork, website, (Google ranked No1), event website profile (Including our 5* reputation/feedback), professionally shot photos and videos, business phone number, wholesaler accounts, Instagram, insurances, Facebook and every single other piece of proprietary company info, including logo designs, menus' etc. (5 years of time and effort)

This will all be handed over to new owners upon completion, along with all passwords, documents and a handover document, with continued support with the ability to call us in the future if you have any questions when in operation.  - Everything will be handed over in a professional manner, including upon sale, any legal documents/ change of ownership to be signed over.

• Ourselves and the business owe no outstanding finances to anyone. 

In physical assets alone there is approximately £65-70k, not to mention the valuable contracts and prestigious business reputation we have built over the 2 years. Including Google SEO ranking etc. The standing of some of the previous event’s names alone would enable you to leapfrog into new festivals and events across the country, if you are prepared to travel.

The van will be sold full of stock and any other miscellaneous. items Include new engine oils, signs, menus, stock/mixers etc, cups etc.

We found insurance to be extremely reasonable. For two named drivers on the bus, the Mercedes van, business liability insurance and employee insurance, the premium is just £1500 a year. The policies are all supplied by one company for ease of management. Road tax is about £130 a year. (The bus will qualify for Classic Vehicle status soon, so will be TAX/MOT exempt anyway).

We hope you can see all the time and effort that we have put into the business from the pictures. If you take the time to see the bus in person you will not be disappointed.

The bus, trailer and van etc are all kept in a secure compound with 24/7 security.

Please give me a call to discuss anything our contact number is: 01329 800 720