The Henley-on-Thames shop The Vintage Look had been trading for more than seven years when the lease to their building, owned by Catalyst Capital, came to an end. Scott Parker and his sister Michelle, who co-own the business, had expressed interest in a nearby shop which Catalyst Capital also owns.
“They said we could have the new shop if we left the old shop early,” Scott says. “We would have had six weeks to go find somewhere else if they hadn’t offered us the new premises.”
However, four weeks after taking over the lease and only three weeks after opening the doors of the new premises, the Parkers were served the two months’ notice clause that had been written into the contract.
They were told the landlords had “made a mistake” when they had offered the dealers a two year lease on the property and that it was needed for “access” during the redevelopment.
Catalyst Capital were unavailable for comment.
Time for a change
For Scott the expense of the debacle has led to his decision to leave the antiques trade altogether.
He estimates that between rates paid on the week before the shop opened, the cost of a new sign and a £1200 shipment of carrier bags, around £3000 was lost in the move.
Now the business is set to fold when the shop closes again at the end of August.
“I’ve had enough,” Scott told ATG. “It’s getting harder and harder.”
The Vintage Look sells antiques and modern replica homewares, but according to Scott the antiques are getting more and more difficult to sell.
ATG understands that the majority of the dealers from the shop are in the process of finding a new premises large enough to house all of them and that they plan to continue dealing together. Michelle Parker plans to continue dealing at various fairs in London and the rest of the UK.
Scott, on the other hand, says his dealing days are over and it is time for a new career.
