ROCKETING rents and rates are killing off shops in Hampstead’s South End Green, according to a struggling trader who fears he will have to close in April.
Arvind Mistry, of Belsize Stationers in South End Road, has told customers he may have to close at the start of the new financial year after discovering he is facing a 90 per cent rise in rent, coupled with a 40 per cent rates increase.
Mr Mistry, who has run the shop for 30 years, blames incoming chains such as Starbucks for ruining the Green.
He said: “This is a sign of the times. It shows things are produced solely for profit rather than need.
“Incoming businesses do not think about the effect of agreeing to pay high rent. If they pay higher rent, it hits the rest of the area.”
His neighbour, AK Electronics, has already closed and a nearby greengrocers is also planning to shut.
Robin Burns, a solicitor representing two other shops in South End Road, said: “Since Starbucks came in 2002, the rents have risen by up to £50-60 a square foot.
“This is happening across the country where chain stores move in and then rents shoot up.
“It must be stopped. The increase is too high for the location and we can’t make ends meet with rents at this level.”
Jonathan Bergman, who runs Amberden Estates in South Hill Park and has worked for the South End Green Traders Association, said he was sorry to see the Mistry family leave.
He added: “Businesses in the area are having a high turn-around because of these shops.
“It is not just Starbucks. There are a lot of new businesses. There have been 10 in the past two years.”
But he said big businesses brought in fresh investment that had helped improve the area.
He said: “Look back at what the Green was like six years ago. The place was derelict, but we have to make sure we look after well-established, family-run businesses.”