Deptford bar Gin & Beer closing this weekend

A Deptford bar that opened in 2017 under railway arches is closing with tomorrow the last day of operation.

The company states rents are too high and customer numbers too low to survive with such overheads.

A number of Deptford businesses seem to have a short life both along resolution way and over at Deptford Market Yard beside the station.

A factor in high rents could be Network Rail being forced to sell their property portfolio in 2018 including thousands of arches. 5,200 sites were purchased by Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners.

It raised £1.5 billion in short term income but lost an important stream of long term revenue that assisted with maintaining the rail network.

In other nations rail networks utilise land which rent not only to  business but also extensive housing alongside stations which assist with subsidising the rail network.

Selling the arches also put many businesses at risk of rent rises – though Network Rail was hardly guilt free there, though at least as a public company could answer to politicians. Some of those Network Rail rent rises could have been in expectation of raising more funds when sites were sold.

A report last year found the deal meant “future tenants would have fewer rights – and existing tenants no longer have an option to extend their leases.”