A business agreement involving a York sweet shop has gone sour – leaving the store shut and the staff out in the cold.
Kingdom Of Sweets on Stonegate didn’t open today (Thursday) after it was seized back by the landlords.
The building is owned by Greenridge Investment Management, which is based in London.
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A notice has been posted on the door on behalf of Greenridge from letting agent Savills UK.
It says: “The landlord has today re-entered the property in accordance with the provisions of clause 40 of the lease and has changed the locks to the property.
“From today’s date the lease has been forfeited and has come to an end.
“Any attempt to enter the property without the landlord’s authority may be a criminal offence and result in prosecution.”
Fully stocked
Greenridge bought the property for £2.425 million in July 2018, when the retail unit was occupied by Jack Wills on a rent of £115,000 a year.
But Jack Wills’ Stonegate store ceased trading in November 2020.
Kingdom of Sweets opened in April 2021, selling a huge range of confectionery, including much imported from the USA. At the time, its arrival was hailed as part of York’s bounce back from lockdown.
Greenridge and BDH Managment Ltd, a company 75% owned by Kingdom of Sweets, signed a lease for the store on 10 December 2020.
But that agreement has now been cancelled.
Though locked and devoid of staff, the store is fully stocked with sweets and chocolates. We have asked Kingdom of Sweets to comment, and to tell us what now happens to the York shop workers.
Sometimes shops seized this way can stay locked up for years. The old Zatchels store on Shambles is still shuttered with Christmas decorations in the window dating from December 2019.