Should I buy an existing trampoline park or open a new one?

This is a choice between known problems and unknown ones. A park that is already open can show you its books, its calendar and its crowds. A new one shows you only a plan. Neither route is better in general. The right one depends on how much time you have, what you can fund and how much uncertainty you are willing to carry. Use the points below to frame the talk with your advisers.

What a running park gives you

You can read real records: bookings, memberships, staffing and repair history. Trained staff and regular party clients may stay on. The doors can open soon after closing, so the time spent earning nothing is shorter. Ask whether the park’s customers belong to the park or to the owner. A name and a following are only useful if they transfer.

What a running park costs you in risk

Equipment may be near the end of its life, and the lease may be short. Ask your insurer and lawyer how incidents from earlier years affect the park’s claims record. Ask how the park’s reputation sits in local reviews. If the owner ran everything personally, ask what changes when they leave. Your lawyer can explain what you take on and what you leave behind in each kind of deal.

What a new park asks of you

A new park needs a suitable building, with enough ceiling height and floor space, and a lease that allows the use. Design, fit-out, equipment orders and approvals all take time before the first customer arrives. After opening there is a ramp-up period while word spreads. Ask a lender how it views a start-up compared with a business that has a record.

Questions to settle the choice

• How long can you wait before the park must start earning?
• Is there a suitable location with no park nearby, or one that already serves the area?
• Would you rather inherit a team or build your own?
• Which risks does your lender accept more easily?