Seafront firms' rent hike fears

Seafront traders says their operating window can be just four months long

A number of traders in Brighton claim huge rent increases could put them out of business.

Some tenants say they are facing raises of up to 200%, increasing the amount they pay from £6,000 to £18,000.

Adam Chinnery, of the Seafront Business Association, said no firms could survive such a "dramatic raise".

Brighton and Hove City Council said high rent rises could be because a firm had historically low rent, and it had no interest in driving businesses out.

An owner of a fish and chip shop on the seafront, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "A lot of people won't be able to survive. These seafront cafes are not goldmines that the council see they are.

"They [the inspectors] come down on very busy days when they have queues. They don't come down on rainy days in May and June when you're taking £14 and you've got three staff on, all at £5.50 an hour."

'Large sum'

Mr Chinnery, who also owns Brighton Water Sports, said: "The businesses so far that have been approached have had historic rents of about £6,000 to £7,000, now these increases, suggested increases, are up in the region of £18,000.

"This may not sound a lot to other businesses but if you compare that to the operating window that businesses have down here, which can often be just three to four months if they are lucky, that is quite a large sum of money."

The council said many of the traders had very low rents compared to bars, which would typically pay about £44,000 a year, or big clubs that would be charged about £60,000.

Firms will 'struggle to survive'

A spokesman for the council added: "There is no across-the-board rent rise.

"Rents are reviewed periodically on a case-by-case basis as agreed with the tenant and not all at the same time.

"Any high rent rises for an individual will be for historic reasons such as the rent not increasing for a long time, or the rent being unusually low, or the business becoming more lucrative.

He added: "The council has spent millions attracting businesses to the seafront and we have no interest in driving them out."