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Pauline and Andy Jordan are stunned after landlords Wokingham Without Parish Council hiked up their rent from £2,000 a year to £22,000
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Cafe faces closure after 1,000 per cent rent increase

By Becky Barnes
September 27, 2012

A couple who invested their £75,000 life savings refurbishing a cafe say they will be forced to close after receiving two weeks notice of a 1,000 per cent rent increase.

Andy and Pauline Jordan, pictured, who run Pinewood Bar and Cafe, are in ‘complete shock’ after Wokingham Without Parish Council informed them their annual rent would increase from £2,000 to £22,000.

Andy, 57, who took over the lease of the building at The Pinewood Centre, in Old Wokingham Road, Crowthorne, two and a half years ago, said: “We are absolutely gutted and in complete shock.

“We expected an increase of double or treble what we are paying but this is an absolute non-starter. Even half that would not be feasible to break even.”

The couple, who live in Bullbrook and have been together for 33 years, received a letter last week saying the rent increase would come into force on Monday.

Andy said: “When we took over we were given two year’s reduced rent to get it up and running and expected it to go up in line with others based here, which is around £5,000 to £6,000.”

The business owners claim they took on the cafe on the proviso of a 25-year lease, which has never been put in writing.

Andy said: “All we want is a realistic rent, we are not here to make money.

“We are in this for the rest our lives and we hoped our kids would take over.”

The couple say they have spent their money on refurbishments, including installing a bar and putting disco lights in the function room.

Pauline, 54, a Scouting volunteer for 40 years, said: “If we had to close we would be devastated. We are both in our 50s and we would have to start our life again and find jobs. I fear for my eight part-time staff. I don’t know whether we would be able to pick ourselves back up.”

The pair welcome 400 to 500 customers each week, from mums to pensioners to community groups.

They plan to take a petition with hundreds of signatures to the parish council’s meeting at the St Sebastian’s Memorial Hall, in Nine Mile Ride, on Monday at 7.30pm.

Pauline said: “Sign our petition and join us at the meeting. We will fight as best we can to keep the place.”

Wokingham Without Parish Council did not wish to comment.

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Most recent user comments 13 of 13

I lied! I pay Just over £6000 a year rent for the 2 days I am open at the market (I forgot to times it by 2 days!). So putting it into perspective, £22,000 isn't far off what I would be paying if I could open 6 days a week. I wish I had over 400 customers a week!! Although we are getting popular so you never know!

HK, bracknell
05/10/2012 at 08:18

I too have sympathy for this couple. However, I run the cafe down the market in Bracknell and my yearly rent comes to just over £3000 a year and we can only open 2 days a week and so £2000 a year is a steel especially if it's open all week. Although I appreciate all the money they have put into doing the place up (as have I at the cafe), I think they should feel lucky they have got away with such a low rent for as long as they have done. There is always money to be made in the food industry and so if they aren't making enough money to cover a higher rent (£22,000 is a bit of a tall order) then I really do think they are doing something wrong. I make enough to cover staff wages and re-stock but I can't say I make enough to pay myself but there again, I'm only open 2 days a week.

HK, bracknell
04/10/2012 at 16:13

Andy and Pauline - whatever you do, don't go to Phillip Lee as he'll only be interested if you want high speed broadband installed. Seemingly this is the only economic factor he considers worth promoting. Hard working people who graft, invest, and demonstrate a commitment to hard work and their community is just, y'know, so analogue!

Winstanley, Bracknell
30/09/2012 at 15:48

It would be interesting to find out how much Wokingham Without Parish Council (WWPC) pay to Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) to lease the site and if they are subject to commercial levels of rent for the so called commercial units in the Pinewood centre. If they are going to charge commercial rents, WWPC should also be paying them. Maybe the press can find this out under the Freedom of Information act.

I feel really sorry for this couple, I have been to the Pinewood cafe on a number of occasions and it is a wonderful community hub. The work done on the hall has made it one of the nicest halls you can hire in the local area and the bar and cafe are just like a cosy social club. All this improvement was down to the Jordan's hard work and self funding and not WWPC.

WWPC seem to be basing the rent on the standard of the unit now and not the original shack they leased. Without having put in a penny to bring it up to even a good standard themselves, WWPC are just being downright mean in raising the rent to this inapproprate level, and are doing what almost equates to stealing from the Jordans, and of course WWPC in knowing full well that the Jordan's can't afford to fight a legal battle, makes what they are doing really unfair.

Not only will the Jordan's lose money and their business if they have to pull out due to costs, the staff will lose their jobs. I wonder if WWPC have looked at the impact of this. These people may now need to claim benefits from the WBC for rent and Council tax etc. which will make a bigger dent in the public purse, the knock on effect of this may be less money available from the Borough to pass on to the Parish.

Time4tea
30/09/2012 at 10:55

But how dos it compare with the rent in the other businesses..for example the Bike School? there's no way Phil would be able to stump 20K!

Timothy Jefferies
28/09/2012 at 19:11

Yeah, I hear you beef. My kids go to gym there and we certainly enjoy a nice cuppa in the café. But, spending £75K of your savings without knowing what your overheads are going to be sound foolhardy at best. I’m suggesting that £20K is a more realistic rent for a business like this and the owners will have to choose to live on less profit or fold, harsh but true. If it's a good business even with £20K rent then it will survive. Or if they leave and £20K rent is too high then no one will rent it. Gotta do the sums

badger44, Farley Hill
28/09/2012 at 19:03

Understand your points Badger, but I don't thing Pauline and Andy, knowing them as I do would argue that the rent was low and as the story says they were expecting an increase.

But that much, really? All this will do is ensure the building is empty and there is no facility at all.

They've put there all into the place to make it something that WWBC should be proud of within a facility we can all be proud of. Doing this just smacks of either stupidity or just plain being out of touch.

Beef, Bracknell
28/09/2012 at 16:09

Whether the land gets sold off or not sounds like speculation. Maybe the council have realised there is a decent profit to be made running a catering facility properly on the site and they want a bigger more realistic slice of the cake (pardon pun).

£2,000 rent was clearly unrealistic. How much do you think the rent on a shop in town would be? Nearer £20,000? And there is probably more passing trade at Pinewood than in parts of Bracknell town!!

As a commercial landlord, I think they have had a very cushy time of it rent wise. Maybe it is time to see if they can run their business properly and profitably.

They really should have negotiated and known their long term rent before spending their life savings refurbishing the place – very naive and the council hold all the aces because if the café has proved profitable, which clearly it has, they won’t have trouble letting the place to someone else

badger44, Farley Hill
28/09/2012 at 15:56

Can i suggest that everyone sends an email to admin.wwpc@btconnect.com expressing their disgust and outrage! The centre is OWNED by Wokingham Borough Council but run by Wokingham Without Parish Council

Tom Edwards, Bracknell
28/09/2012 at 13:02

This is disgraceful!!! Lets get a petition started ... Wokingham Without should be ashamed of themselves

Tom Edwards, Bracknell
28/09/2012 at 12:54

It looks as though WWPC want to sell this land by their behaviour.. I support Pauline and Andy's petition to pay a fair rent.

Stig2, Wokingham
28/09/2012 at 11:02

Wokingham Without should be disgusted with themselves!

As Tim said it sounds like they want to sell the land

We are all behind Pauline and Jordan - can an online petition be set up?

CMK
28/09/2012 at 09:56

Pauline and Jordan are really the most excellent, unassuming and humble people you could wish to meet. Pauline works herself to the bone for her community, both with the Cafe and with the Scouting activities and the same with Jordan...helping disadvantaged young people through their transition into adulthood through football and Scouting. It is abhorent that Wokingham Without are hiking the rent to 22 Grand! Sounds like the Council do not want anyone to stay so they can sell the land. I will be signing the petition for sure and praying that the authority sees sense. My prayers are with you both in this difficult time.