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Huge historic market set to suddenly close after 54 years as ‘disgusted’ traders are forced to leave in just WEEKS
A HUGE historic market is on the brink of a shocking closure after operating for 54 years.
Traders slammed the local council after they were allegedly treated in a “disgusting” way – and are now seeking legal action.
The Victoria Centre Market in Nottingham is set to close – and traders are set to be out by March 31.
It has been operating from its current site since 1971, and is one of the major places to shop in the city.
Nottingham city council announced the Victoria Centre market will shut down its business after falling customer numbers and increasing costs made it difficult to survive.
In 2022, the authority said it intended to exit the current lease due to increasing costs and subsidies required to operate it into the future.
Stallholders were left waiting for a confirmation over the past year.
Following the closure announcement, the council confirmed that existing traders and stall owners could stay until next summer, but no new shops would be allowed to open.
However, traders allege that the council has not helped them to find new premises to set up their shops.
John Easom, who has run the Gold Bank Jewellers in the market for nine years, said: “They originally said they were going to help traders find new premises, but there’s been none of that.
“I think the way the traders are being treated is just disgusting. I’ve heard that at the end of February, they went round and said everyone will be out by March 31st.
“They’ve put eviction notices on some traders and I’ve heard some of them are taking legal action.”
The council has previously confirmed that eviction notices have been served against some traders due to rent arrears, Nottinghamshire Live reports.
A spokesperson for the Nottingham City Council previously said: “We have recently confirmed our plans to close the market and have served notice on traders with significant rent arrears.
“Unfortunately, several stallholders have breached their legal agreements by failing to pay rent, collectively owing the council over £400,000.
“Any trader with more than three months of unpaid rent will be formally notified to vacate the market. With the council facing substantial financial challenges, it’s crucial that we address these outstanding rent issues.
“Additionally, we will be terminating legal agreements with traders who have applicable break clauses to cease their occupancy at the market.”
A The Victoria Centre spokesperson said: “The market is run and operated by Nottingham City Council and they have been – and remain – fully responsible for all decisions regarding its future.”
What is happening to the hospitality industry?
By Laura McGuire, consumer reporter
MANY Food and drink chains have been struggling in recently as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.
Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
Some chains have not survived, Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.
Liam Gallagher risks £4,000 fine if he fails to show up to face love-child’s mother in court
LIAM Gallagher risks a £4,000 fine if he fails to show up to face his love-child’s mother in court.
The Oasis frontman, 52, must attend a hearing on April 16 over child support for 12-year-old daughter Gemma, whom he has never met.
He is being sued in the US by her mother, journalist Liza Ghorbani, with whom he had a fling starting in 2010.
The latest case will be heard next month at a family court in New York.
He was previously fined $5,000 (£3,800) twice for failing to attend hearings — after a judge dismissed his claims that he was too anxious to attend.
Dad-of-four Liam says Ms Ghorbani, 50, is getting £300,000 a year and is a gold-digger.
She hit out at “misinformation”.
The case could drag on into the summer, clashing with the money-spinning Oasis reunion tour.
Travis Perkins rocked as new boss Pete Redfern steps down after just six months due to ill health
Travis Perkins has been left reeling after new boss Pete Redfern was forced to step down due to ill health, after just six months in the job.
Shares in the builders’ merchant fell by 8 per cent yesterday as investors digested the news that the company would have to start hunting for a new boss again.
The fear is that it will take some time to recruit a replacement for Mr Redfern. Investors will have to wait even longer for the new boss to get their feet under the table and come up with a plan for the business.
Mr Redfern, 54, started as CEO last September after making his name as boss of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey over the past two decades.
Travis Perkins, which owns the Toolstation brand, is the UK’s biggest distributor of building materials. It has 550 branches and 8,400 employees.
In 2021 it spun off bathroom and kitchen business Wickes in a separate listing.
The shock news comes a week before Mr Redfern was expected to unveil details of his turnaround strategy, alongside Travis Perkins’ annual results.
In October Mr Redfern gave a candid critique of Travis Perkins’ underperformance and said the firm had “become distracted”.
He also took on the role of managing merchant business.
The extra workload, he said, would allow him to “shorten reporting lines and develop the new strategy”.
But five months later Mr Redfern is having to step away from work altogether, leaving big question marks about the future direction of Travis Perkins.
Chairman Geoff Drabble said yesterday: “The Board and I are very sorry that Pete’s brief but promising tenure as CEO has been brought to a premature conclusion for reasons beyond his and our control, and which none of us had anticipated.
“On a personal level, and on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Pete for his valuable contribution kickstarting the group’s efforts to refocus on the customer experience and re-energise our field operations.”
Pizzas ‘junk’ debt
Pizza Express is junk food, according to rating agency Fitch, which yesterday issued a savage downgrade on the restaurant firm’s debt to junk territory.
Analysts at Fitch reckon the chain, famed for its American Hot and Sloppy Giuseppe pizzas, will come under pressure due to a significant increase in staffing costs due to the Budget, challenging consumer demand and weakening profits.
It has lowered the debt rating from B- to junk territory CCC+.
Private equity firm Bain Capital was this weekend reported to be injecting £30million to help shore up its finances.
But Fitch warned of “refinancing risks” and it could be classed as a “distressed” situation.
Fitch said in a note: “We believe that in the absence of material earnings improvement or imminent shareholder support..the company may have challenges with debt refinancing and its capital structure could become unsustainable”.
Pizza Express has 350 restaurants across the UK and Ireland and it has a number of sites abroad, from Cyprus to the UAE.
Tesla in double whammy
Shares in Elon Musk’s Tesla plunged yesterday as the electric car firm was hit by a double whammy of fears about the US economy and its own sales slowdown.
Wall Street tumbled yesterday after President Trump refused to rule out recession risks and said his introduction of tariffs meant a “period of transition” for the US economy.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Index dropped by 3 per cent yesterday while the S&P 500 sank by 2 per cent as investors fear the US economy may be dented in the short term.
The so-called “Magnificent Seven”, which consists of Tesla, NVIDIA, Google owner Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, all suffered sliding shares.
Shares in Tesla dropped another 11 per cent yesterday as analysts at UBS also cut their forecasts for the number of cars Tesla will deliver this year to 1.7 million, below Wall Street’s consensus of 2 million.
20% dive on ships
Clarkson, the world’s biggest shipbroking firm, saw its shares tank by over a fifth yesterday after warning global conflicts, trade tensions and tariffs were affecting business.
Clarkson, which was accused of profiteering during the pandemic, said that rates were sharply falling due to global uncertainty.
Threats in the Red Sea from Houthi rebels meant traffic through the Suez Canal was at historic low levels.
It’s Assura deal
Assura, the FTSE 250 landlord to hundreds of doctors’ surgeries and healthcare centres, says it is “minded” to approve a £1.61billion private equity takeover.
The firm had rejected four previous offers from private equity giant KKR. However, the US buyout firm has come back with a 49.3p-a-share offer and partnered with another investor, Stonepeak.
Assura has over 600 UK healthcare buildings with a £2.7billion book value. Shares rose by 14 per cent yesterday, valuing the firm at £1.5billion.
Less than a fifth of engineering and manufacturing firms are confident the Government can fix an ongoing skills shortage.
An In-Comm Training poll found 61 per cent of HR leads do not understand what Labour’s new body Skills England is for.
Fix a good call
Virgin Media O2 has said it will spend £2million a day to fix signal blackouts in Britain.
The telecom firm said it will focus on expanding 4G and 5G coverage to “not-spots” in rural and coastal areas.
It is also focusing on how to boost capacity in dense urban areas and fix the ongoing bugbears of rubbish signals along railway lines, at airports and on motorways.
It will be deploying new networks to ensure “uninterrupted connectivity” for live events, such as football games and music gigs.
SHARES
- BARCLAYS down 14.20 to 284.55
- BP up 5.00 to 418.45
- CENTRICA down 2.50 to 144.00
- HSBC down 21.60 to 854.80
- LLOYDS down 1.74 to 69.18
- M&S down 5.40 to 362.40
- NATWEST down 17.10 to 438.00
- ROYAL MAIL flat at 363.20
- SAINSBURY’S up 5.00 to 259.60
- SHELL up 18.50 to 2573.00
- TESCO down 2.00 to 378.10
Boy, 17, died of sepsis while mum waited 8 hours for call back from NHS 111, inquest hears
A BOY of 17 died of sepsis while his mum waited eight hours for a call back from NHS 111, an inquest heard yesterday.
Cyrus Perry was put to bed with a sick bucket, as the call was expected in 20 minutes.
When 111 finally rang back the next morning, mum Hayley Perry found him dead in his room.
The teenager, of Sturminster Marshall, Dorset, died from sepsis and group A strep, post mortem tests showed.
Mrs Perry said the death of her son was preventable and she felt “let down” by the system.
She added that Cyrus’ twin brother Reuben was angry at her and the system for “taking away his soulmate”.
She said: “I have concerns about NHS 111, I feel the death was preventable.
“I feel let down by NHS 111, I clearly informed them Cyrus was too unwell to get to hospital.
“This will haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I put my faith and trust in the system.”
The inquest continues.
