Abacus Calculators Pty Ltd, a long-time tenant of West Perth, will shift to Victoria Park in July after selling its Abacus Computers retail business last month.
The move will be good news for businesses in West Perth on the hunt for new office space because Abacus Calculators owner Glenn Ford has decided to renovate its current two-storey office building and lease out the 1,450 square metre space in August.
Mr Ford said the company no longer needed to be in West Perth following the sale of its retail arm to Canning Vale businessman Salam Azis.
Mr Ford said he sold the business, which he founded 26 years ago with his brother, Mike, and accountant Ron McFarlane, because his children were not interested in taking on the retail operations.
Mr Ford took full ownership of the business in 1991.
“Retail is a mistress that requires a lot of attention to detail and as you get older you start working out how much time you can devote to various things,” Mr Ford said.
Mr Ford will continue to operate the business’s rental and scientific calculator divisions from its Victoria Park premises.
The new offices are being renovated and Abacus Calculators West Perth-based staff are expected to move out of their current offices at the end of July.
Mr Ford, who owns the West Perth building, said he would renovate it ahead of leasing the premises later this year.
The building is located on Gordon Street between Wellington Street and Murray Street.
Mr Ford said he had mixed emotions about the sale of Abacus Computers, which operates six retail sites located from Joondalup to Rockingham.
“We have run the store at Cloisters Square for 26 years and that’s an achievement, especially in this industry,” Mr Ford said. “IT is very fast and cut-throat.”
He said he had sold the company’s retail sites along with its trading name, Abacus Computers and Technology, to Mr Azis for an undisclosed sum.
Mr Ford said Mr Azis owned a camping retail business in Canning Vale but had a background in IT.
