OWNERS of long-standing city centre shop say ‘it’s such a shame’ as they prepare to close after a decade.
Hothouse in The Shambles, Worcester, is set to close in the coming weeks due to concerns about continuing to rent the space and footfall since the pandemic.
The business has shrunk ever since the pandemic, with its stores in Stroud, Gloucester, and Bristol, all shutting their doors.
The Worcester store is the last to go and will close before July 10.
The owners of Hothouse Worcester said: “It’s such a shame, because when you have grown up in Worcester, The Shambles used to be absolutely thriving.
“It used to be a real sort of source for the local people and people who used to visit Worcester.
“You look at The Shambles now, I think we will be the fifth vacant shop this year.
“We don’t know exactly when we will be closing yet.
“Our lease ends on July 10 basically. The landlord wants to sell the building.
Hothouse to close in the coming weeks in Worcester (Image: Daniel Kelly/NQ)
“We’ve obviously got the right to stay but the landlord would put the rent up and we are not prepared to sign up another five-year lease with more rent.”
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Hothouse Worcester will close once the remaining stock has been sold, which the pair estimates could take a couple of weeks.
The owners added: “Of course, we are sad to go, but really footfall has been down since covid.
“Rents go up, business rates go up, energy costs go up.
“Employing people now is difficult with the increase in minimum wage rates.
“High streets are just so uncertain now, they are so vulnerable.
“It is what it is, really.
“We’ve had a good customer base.
“It was starting to deteriorate before covid and during covid we were really busy with online sales.
“Locally, we were delivering, that sort of thing.
“After covid the shop was really busy.
“But since then footfall has been down.
“It’s very unpredictable.”
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