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Anthony Debono at his successful flower stall on Story Street, Barnsbury |
Hoodies set to become entrepreneurs
HOODIES in Islington won’t need any hugs from David Cameron, thanks to an enterprising flower seller.
Anthony Debono, 19, who owns A&T Flowers in Story Street, Barnsbury, came up with an idea to get hard-to-reach teenagers off the streets by giving them free reign of their own market stalls.
With the guidance of charity Innovative Enterprise Action (IEA), Mr Debono’s idea has snowballed into a Dragon’s Den-style competition, where teenagers must persuade a panel of business owners that their proposal will make a profit.
It could be anything from selling fruit and veg to greeting cards – and even hooded tops.
Mr Debono, who lives in a council flat in Lofting Road, Barnsbury, had the brainwave after a life-changing application to the Prince’s Trust for a grant to set up his flower stall just off Caledonian Road.
By the time he left Islington Green School at 16, he had had a number of police run-ins and his future was in the balance.
He said: “I used to get in trouble with my mates for all the usual stuff, you know, smoking puff and getting up to no good. There are a lot of kids around here like that.
“The stall has changed my life. When I got the grant I thought I was going to be a overnight millionaire – I soon found out that it doesn’t work like that. You have to be willing to put in 110 per cent and these kids should know that.”
The business bosses panel will be made up of representatives It has also emerged that the Town Hall did not apply for permission from the government to make the sale until June.
Traders claim that valuations given by their banks were considerably less than those of Structadene.
Those who couldn’t afford to buy fear a repeat of a recent sale where development giant Derwent Valley increased some rents by 200 per cent.
The deal was finalised on Friday and Islington hopes to raise £69 million to build new schools.
Structadene director Daniel Parnes said: “We’ve attributed what we considered to be a market value to each property. We went around to each one and inspected it.”
He added that in many cases Structadene believed the properties to be worth more than the value given by banks.
Mr Parnes said: “I can understand that some of the tenants are upset and that they don’t believe (the properties) are worth what we believe they are worth.”
Vet Dale Barter, of Amwell Street, Clerkenwell, bought his practice for £577,500 at £27,500 more than his bank valued.
Ian Tweedy, 59, owner of Premier Plumbing in Drayton Park, Highbury, said the council had initially valued his terraced business at £120,000 but Structadene gave a price tag of £231,000.
He said: “Our solicitors wrote to Structadene asking for reasons why the price was so high, but they just kept saying it was non-negotiable.
“We decided in the end it just wasn’t worth it. We never would have got our money back.”
Council finance chief Andrew Cornwell had always claimed that traders “had the protection of their leases”.
But Premier Plumbing looks set to have its annual rent on its 350-square foot unit more than doubled.
The firm took out a nine-year lease in 2000 with a rent review every three years on the industry standard calculation that the rent is the value divided by 15 years.
Therefore, the council originally valued Premier at £120,000, thus its annual rent of £7,400.
But because Structadene valued the property at £231,000, Premier may face paying £15,400 per year.
The Tribune understands that most tenants had leases of between five and 20 years, each with a built-in rent review.
Mr Parnes said: “We are going to look at each property on its own merits. I can’t give guarantees that we won’t put any of the rents up across the whole portfolio.
“But it’s not in anyone’s interests to put the rents up so high that it forces people to leave.”
Until Monday, council officials repeatedly refused to reveal the process by which the portfolio was valued, even when pressed under the Freedom of Information Act, until the sale was agreed.
A statement released on Monday said: “The council can also confirm that it has now completed on a contract with local property firm Structadene which enables Structadene to acquire any other properties where local businesses fail to complete their transaction.
“The council has a duty to taxpayers under the Local Government Act 1972 to obtain the best price on the sale of property assets.”
Mr Tweedy said: “The thing that concerns us most is that if rents are increased we might have to move our business on.”
Chris Roche, the Islington-based architect and development consultant, said: “If properties come to the market then they would reach their true value but when they come in a job lot then it is impossible to put a price on it.
“Someone has been given carte blanche to negotiate and it is a clear distortion of the market.” |
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