Agents comment on sale of a thriving North Yorkshire city centre Post Office

The exterior of the Ripon Post Office (Image: Pic supplied)

A thriving North Yorkshire city centre post office has been sold.

Ernest Wilson & Co have sold the leasehold of the Ripon Post Office in the Arcade, Market Please East, for an undisclosed sum.

The business had been on the market for just a few months and had come to market as its operator was moving out of the area.

The sales particulars reported a Post Office remuneration for the 12 months to August 2025 was £205,968 including VAT, and retail sales “growing steadily from an average of £500 per week”. Its rent was £10,000 a year.

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The business featured a spacious ground floor shop, selling greetings cards, stationery and other items, plus one ‘fortress’ Post Office counter and two other counters.

The interior of the Post Office

(Image: Pic supplied)

The first floor utility areas had two stockrooms, managers office, staff kitchenette and WC.

Post Office remuneration is transaction-based, so the busier the post office, the higher the remuneration.

Ernest Wilson & Co say Ripon Post Office was busy and hugely popular, relied upon by hundreds of customers every week, giving ‘extremely high’ remuneration.

The agents say Post Offices are extremely popular due to their regular monthly incomes and being a strong, recognisable and trusted brand.

The interior of the Ripon Post Office

(Image: Pic supplied)

Many Post Offices also have a retail side such as cards and stationery, which deliver good profit margins.

Often, potential purchasers come from a banking/ accounting background but every applicant is subject to a suitability interview by Post Office Ltd to ensure that they are the right fit for that particular office.

The ‘Horizon scandal’ has not dented their popularity, the agents said, and Ernst & Wilson has other Post Office sales in the pipeline.

Ernest Wilson & Co director Director Stuart Moorhouse told the Press: “We were pleased to handle the sale of Ripon Post Office. This is an extremely busy Post Office and a vital cog in the local economy. We are finding that Post Offices are as popular now as ever due to a combination of regular income together with strong, trusted branding.”