REVEALED: Landlord behind 50% rent hike Northampton coffee shops says forced it to close is Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council

Saints Coffee in St Giles’ Street closed its doors for good on Sunday January 11 after more than four years in business.

The popular venue, which first opened in August 2021, blamed its landlord for hiking the rent by more than 50 per cent, saying trade was ‘no longer viable’.

West Northamptonshire Council has now confirmed to the Chronicle & Echo that it is the owner of the building.

The Chron asked if WNC would like to comment on the reason for the reason for the rent increase and the decision making behind it.

In response, a WNC spokeswoman said: “Apologies, we cannot comment on individual cases.”

Earlier this month, in a social media post, a Saints Coffee spokesman said: “We're coming to the end of an era. We first opened our doors in the summer of 2021 and it's been a fantastic journey, with far more ups than downs. We set out with the goal of creating something new in Northampton – a local business we could be proud of that put quality and community at the heart of everything we did. We feel like we succeeded, with an unbelievable amount of happy memories.

“Unfortunately, the cost of doing business as a coffee shop is growing increasingly prohibitive and, despite conversations with our landlord, we're unable to reach a rent position that worked for both sides. We did not plan to close Saints Coffee, but a proposed rent increase of over 50 per cent meant that continuing to trade was no longer viable.

“We may share the whole story one day, but for now we would prefer to focus on the challenges for our team and the positives of what we've managed to do over the last four and a half years."

Many customers and residents reacted to the closure news last week.

One customer said: “Awful news. Saints is a shining light in the town. It’s a big loss to the character of St Giles. We even had our wedding party there. I’d be interested to understand the landlord’s thinking behind such a huge rent hike. What legitimate independent business would be in a position to pay it in these times?”

Another wrote: “This is so sad to read. Saints Coffee will be missed terribly. The Saints team created something wonderful in Northampton.”

Fellow St Giles Street business Montague Jeffery wrote: “So sorry to hear you are closing. St Giles Street will miss you tremendously. Wouldn’t the landlords rather have a tenant paying rent than none at all, with the subsequent lack of business rates too? Other premises near you from the same landlord are empty too. It makes no sense at all in these very strange times.”

The other units owned by WNC and standing empty on St Giles Street include: numbers 58, 60, and 68.