The Managing Director of the Fudge Kitchen chain of shops has warned of High Streets 'littered with empty shops' in years to come unless major change happen in the attitude of landlords.
Windsor's own Fudge Kitchen reopened Saturday in Thames Street - along with other branches in York, Edinburgh, Bath, Cambridge and Oxford.
But Sian Holt, the managing director, has described her experiences with private and institutional landlords while trying to find answers to the threat to High Street businesses as 'frustrating and hugely disappointing'.
She warns: "The blinkered and short-sighted view to protect ‘yields’, pension funds and short-term returns will lead to the demise of many more traders over the next six to nine months, littering our High Streets with yet more empty shops, making our towns less interesting as leisure shopping destinations … and thus the downward spiral will continue."
She warned that small and independent retailers around the country trying to get positive action were being met by uncompromising brick walls and claims of poverty by landlords living in ivory towers.
She said trade-offs had to be made, possibly involving lease extensions or reduced rentals.
She warns that time is running out, saying: "One thing is for sure: things cannot continue as they are. Someone, somewhere has to start listening."
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