Opening of a premium kickboxing studio

Client: Ryu Kai

Logo de Ryu Kai

Context

With a solid experience acquired in the management of Sensei kickboxing rooms, Nicolas Antoine decided to open his own studio in order to provide his advice in a premium setting, in the heart of London.

FTC supported Ryu Kai in the search for premises but also in the fit out.

Challenges

  • Finding premises on a busy artery at a reasonable budget.
  • Transforming an estate agent’s office into a kickboxing hall with all the technical constraints that this entails (in particular fire safety in the basement which was not previously intended for the public).
  • Need to create a “premium” atmosphere with a limited budget.

Our intervention

FTC supported Ryu Kai in the search for their premises but also in the design of the place and the supervision of the construction site.

The negotiation of the premises was special insofar as the owner of the premises was a private landlord, which is relatively rare for London. It is always important to know who you are talking to as the levers of the negotiation are not the same. It is difficult to ask for a long period of free rent from a landlord who needs his rent to live on. We therefore advised our client to agree to pay rent from the first month but to negotiate a substantial discount for the first year. Deal done!

Once the property contract was signed, it was time for the fit out work to begin which turned out to be far from easy. Thanks to its network of partners (designer, architect, structural engineer, fire consultant, building control etc.), FTC was able to guide Ryu Kay in its project. The technical constraints were numerous (structural changes, humidity and fire safety problems) but solutions were found every time.

Finally, we had to find a contractor who could carry out the work within the allocated budget. It is not easy to work with commercial builders who have large fixed costs and offer much higher quotes for a “small” project. Builders working for private individuals do not always have the necessary skills to work on more specialized issues such as commercial ventilation or fine carpentry and it was necessary to seek out this unique set of skills. Fortunately for our client, we were able to find an experienced contractor through our network who was able to complete the project on time and on budget!

 

Ryu Kai
Address: 117 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3LB
Website: https://www.ryu-kai.com/

French Touch Commercial also supports you throughout the process of finding and securing your commercial premises: shopsrestaurants or offices.