I believe the figures she has quoted, and you have printed without any verification, as to turnover required to cover overheads of £32,000, are so far from the truth that they defy belief.

Any normal business would expect to be able to make a gross margin of £35,000 on a turnover of £120,000 a year or just over £2,000 a week - a far cry from Viv Allinson's figure of £1,000 a day.

It is time the Knutsford Guardian checked its facts before giving such front page prominence to stories which do nothing but harm to what is in general a prosperous trading town. To my best knowledge, she has never attempted to sell her business through a reputable agent.

Instead she has merely put up her own sign over the door - usually accompanied by a notice in the window telling any prospective buyer how bad business was. Surely NOT the best way to go about selling it.

If the Guardian has a front page to spare it should use it to promote Knutsford instead of highlighting the moaning of someone who should clearly not be in business on their own.

K L ANDREW

Managing Director

Hal Whittaker Limited

Knutsford

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.