Full Livery Prices around London?

Tinks81 said:
I am putting this up as the hay/bedding/electric/inurance etc has all gone up but as i explained in my other post as we own it we dont pay rent meaning a lot of the money we get on stable rent has been going on the extra we spend out on the above

And why should i not charge a little more and still be cheaper than everyone else in the area it is at the end of the day a business

I have a complete spreadsheet that works out everything but i am currently only charging people £3.00 a bale of hay which i think it has slightly gone up dont you ??
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But you will have more maintenance costs compared with people who are only renting - so the costs probably balance out.

And yes - we do have our own yard with full liveries.
 
FMM said:
But you will have more maintenance costs compared with people who are only renting - so the costs probably balance out.

And yes - we do have our own yard with full liveries.
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but what i was trying to explain is that i am not just plucking a price out of thin air and thinking ooooh i think ill charge more now for no reason !!

actually i am very lucky my dad does all the maintenance work beign retired and he is very good at it
 
arizonahoney said:
Not in Surrey...maybe in Kent! Anyhooooo...


Well, you should know your clients, right? What other calls do they have on their financial resources, are their jobs secure, are they expecting babies, that sort of thing...
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gosh well there is so much to think about isnt there i mean you are just amazing at this i bet you run your yard much better than me !!!!
 
So the livery you offer does not include hay then if you are charging people £3 a bale? If the costs of buying in hay has gone up then you should think about putting the price of the hay up - our hay went up by £1 per bale.

I think that this why a lot of the other full livery yards might be more expensive as they normally include hay and feed and the prices may vary dependent on the quality of feed supplied too - full livery on some yards might be also offering hayledge included and the more expensive competition mixes/feeds.

Some yards will also offer individual turnout, changing rugs, picking out hooves etc as part of the deal other will add them as extras. sometimes things seem more expensive for the same service but it is not always the case you could be paying more for qualified staff etc.

I do think if you put up your prices by £44 a month on the basis that other yards are charging more rather than on increased actual costs your liveries may get annoyed and take their business elsewhere even if they can afford to pay it on principle, perhaps a gradual increase every year in line with inflation would be better than no increase for years and then a big hike.



Tinks81 said:
I am putting this up as the hay/bedding/electric/inurance etc has all gone up but as i explained in my other post as we own it we dont pay rent meaning a lot of the money we get on stable rent has been going on the extra we spend out on the above

And why should i not charge a little more and still be cheaper than everyone else in the area it is at the end of the day a business

I have a complete spreadsheet that works out everything but i am currently only charging people £3.00 a bale of hay which i think it has slightly gone up dont you ??
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For example, our full livery includes:

daily grooming, trimming, show preparation including clipping, bathing and plaiting, daily schooling/ exercise, mucking out a couple of times a day, feeding, late night rug changing (10pm), all feed, bedding, hay, haylege, outdoor school which is rolled daily, use of tack and gadgets, daily tack cleaning, log cabin with table, tea, coffee, microwave, fridge etc, use of lorries and staff for competitions (contribution to fuel for use of lorries), groom whilst at show, individual turnout in fields, full care if the horse is ill - giving injections, bandaging, leg wraps etc ... the list goes on and on. Only costs that will be an extra are for insurance, vet, shoeing.

The horses are treated as though we own all of them and the owner has as much or as little to do with them as they want/have time for i.e. if they only come up once a month, the horse is fully looked after in their absence.

Some full livery comes nowhere near the above with many items being looked at as extras.
 
Round here North London, South Herts between 450 and almost 1000 with 500 - 600 being average(google netherwylde for seriously upmarket livery).
However very few have an indoor school and some restrict turnout to morning or afternoon slots and even close it down when fields get muddy.
 
To be honest I don't think the naming of livery really matters that much as long as the horse owner knows what services are/aren't included in the price they pay. The example FMM gives I would class as competition/production livery rather than full livery, but like I say pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

OP - if you feel your running costs have gone up and this in turn will require an increase in rates to keep both your business viable and still competitive against other comparable yards then that is up to you to implement.

What I would suggest is perhaps a quick yard meeting, just to let people know face to face why costs are going up. I would also suggest a gradual rise if possible - perhaps give 1 month notice to raise by £5 per week and at the same time notify this will increase a further £5 on 1st Jan 2012? This would still take you to £105 a week, which for london commuter belt is still reasonable and if your current liveries are happy with the service you provide I'm sure they will find the money somehow.
 
SO1 said:
So the livery you offer does not include hay then if you are charging people £3 a bale? If the costs of buying in hay has gone up then you should think about putting the price of the hay up - our hay went up by £1 per bale.

I think that this why a lot of the other full livery yards might be more expensive as they normally include hay and feed and the prices may vary dependent on the quality of feed supplied too - full livery on some yards might be also offering hayledge included and the more expensive competition mixes/feeds.

Some yards will also offer individual turnout, changing rugs, picking out hooves etc as part of the deal other will add them as extras. sometimes things seem more expensive for the same service but it is not always the case you could be paying more for qualified staff etc.

I do think if you put up your prices by £44 a month on the basis that other yards are charging more rather than on increased actual costs your liveries may get annoyed and take their business elsewhere even if they can afford to pay it on principle, perhaps a gradual increase every year in line with inflation would be better than no increase for years and then a big hike.
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no everything is included but i work out the hay pricing in the livery on £3 a bale - normal horse eats say 3-4 bales a week (they are out in the field all day from 8.30 - 6)

so what i am trying to say is that hay is now £7 a bale - so that is why i am increasing the price for that especially as it is amazing quality hay that they get ad lib (to a certain extent as i found someone feeding their horse 30lbs of hay the other winter)
 
criso said:
Round here North London, South Herts between 450 and almost 1000 with 500 - 600 being average(google netherwylde for seriously upmarket livery).
However very few have an indoor school and some restrict turnout to morning or afternoon slots and even close it down when fields get muddy.
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am so glad i never have to restrict turnout and we dont ever get mud !!
 
ihatework said:
To be honest I don't think the naming of livery really matters that much as long as the horse owner knows what services are/aren't included in the price they pay. The example FMM gives I would class as competition/production livery rather than full livery, but like I say pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

OP - if you feel your running costs have gone up and this in turn will require an increase in rates to keep both your business viable and still competitive against other comparable yards then that is up to you to implement.

What I would suggest is perhaps a quick yard meeting, just to let people know face to face why costs are going up. I would also suggest a gradual rise if possible - perhaps give 1 month notice to raise by £5 per week and at the same time notify this will increase a further £5 on 1st Jan 2012? This would still take you to £105 a week, which for london commuter belt is still reasonable and if your current liveries are happy with the service you provide I'm sure they will find the money somehow.
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that is a very good idea thank you - i was going to give everyone 2 months notice anyway !!
 
Tinks81 said:
am so glad i never have to restrict turnout and we dont ever get mud !!
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If you're in the basin that is on london clay it's hard to avoid and some places are overstocked just because the premium on land in that area is so great.

So some yards restrict because the fields are trashed, some do because they don't want to spoil the look of the fields and some have enough land but don't put a premium on turnout and tell people their horses don't like to go out. Went to view one yard where the yard manager said "I don't understand why people want to turn out, I never put my showjumpers out". Needless to say we politely thanked her and carried on looking.
 
criso said:
If you're in the basin that is on london clay it's hard to avoid and some places are overstocked just because the premium on land in that area is so great.

So some yards restrict because the fields are trashed, some do because they don't want to spoil the look of the fields and some have enough land but don't put a premium on turnout and tell people their horses don't like to go out. Went to view one yard where the yard manager said "I don't understand why people want to turn out, I never put my showjumpers out". Needless to say we politely thanked her and carried on looking.
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nooo my showjumpers (and they are very good ones) go out everyday all day !! i only make one go out on his own as he is very playful and i cant risk him being injured!!

we are really lucky to be on the top of a hill so all our winter fields are up the top them summer ones downt he bottom - i also have a very clever father that dug out the gateways when we first got it xx
 
What I think you need to look at is are your liveries willing to pay the increased price for the service you provide? Facilities may be great, but as I said it is the quality of care that people will pay a premium for.

If you have a high turnover of liveries or constant vancancies that tells you something and maybe your price should stay the same or the level of care be improved. If you have long term liveries who are happy and a waiting list then certainly consider increasing it to cover your costs - if you're not then that is just bad business
 
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