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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 31 August 2007

TWO HOURS LATE – OUT OF BUSINESS

Deadline heartbreak as traders lose shops in Town Hall sell-off

TWO small traders who missed the chance to buy their properties from Islington Council by just two agonising hours now risk losing their livelihoods.
The traders face heartbreak after a desperate struggle to raise funds to buy their business premises in Angel.
Both with young families, they will be hit by crippling rent rises when their properties, a popular café and a dress shop, are eventually purchased by a developer.
Town Hall bosses were this week accused of “bureaucratic pettiness” involving the controversial sale of 220 council-owned properties to developer David Pearl of Angel-based Structadene.
It comes amid a new report suggesting that at least half of the small businesses who had wanted to purchase their own properties in the “great sell-off” had failed either through lack of funds or lack of time to pay.
Labour councillor Martin Klute called the council’s action “outrageous” adding that the traders would have got fairer treatment on the open private market.
Anne and James Coles invested much of their life savings into buying their property, Dress for Less in Upper Street and the flat above.
They even sacrificed a summer holiday this year to pay £3,000 for a solicitor and a surveyor.
But because they were two hours outside the council’s final deadline for the required £52,000 deposit the sale fell through.
Anne explained that the delay was because the money lenders had disagreed with the council’s own valuation of £525,000.
She said: “They gave us four extra days after the initial deadline of August 10 to get the deposit.
“But on the last day they set an 11am deadline. Two hours later the money lender had agreed to put up the deposit.
“I rang my solicitor who then immediately contacted council. The solicitor rang me back and said she was really, really sorry but the council had said it was too late.
“We were devastated.”
Tony Taiano, 61, owner of Dino’s restaurant and a next-door beauty shop in St John Street had a similar problem.
He raised more than £1million for the two properties.
Mr Taiano said: “It was a struggle to raise this kind of money and I missed a couple of previous deadlines. But I wasn’t going to miss the final 11am deadline on August 10. Unfortunately there were problems and I missed it, but again only by a couple of hours.
“I finally got the money at 1pm on the day. But it was too late. Both my solicitor and the bank rang the council to plead my case and say that the money was there - but the council didn’t want to know.”
Cllr Klute said that to cut people off because they were a couple of hours overdue was “cruel and petty- minded”.
He added: “It really highlights the fact that the council doesn’t really want to sell to the tenants.”
David Pearl, chief executive of Structadene, said: “I’m very sympathetic. But everyone has to have deadlines.”
A council spokesperson said more than 100 occupiers recently exchanged contracts with the council to buy their premises.

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