Two years ago we leased a property in Edinburgh City center, The Mound, and we opened a cafe called On The Mound.
More or less the day we opened the Foot and Mouth crisis started and then after the summer the tragic events of September 11th put a stop to the Tourism for that year.
Having said that we managed to survive. We employ 5 people and we have a reasonable turnover, that translate in giving work to staff, suppliers, musicians, Council etc etc.

After the summer 2002, around October, like 90% of the small independent businesses, we started again to have cash flow delays, but we never asked money to the Bank we always worked with our own small capital.
As a consequence some of the suppliers, staff and the landlord had to wait occasionally to receive their payment But we always paid everybody within a reasonable delay.

Two weeks ago apparently the Landlord asked to his solicitor to send us a Notice that we had to Pay the full amount due etc etc in 12 days . That would not be a great problem but is now ending up in a real tragedy.

The letters were not sent to our premises at On The Mound, my naïve mind still thinks that would have been logic, effective, and simple, but instead at the Registered Office of the Company! We had the letter only last Friday with the deadline being the same day. In the past we always had correspondence from the Landlord Estate Agent at our trading premises and we have always been in touch but this time they used the “smart” but legal move to write to the Registered Address….how convenient if you are not seeking a prompt reply.

We sent a cheque the same day first class to the solicitor for most of the amount due (70%) and we told them we would have paid the balance in 10 days.
At the same time we paid the March rent on time (in advance) paying directly to Ryden, the Estate Agent, Bank Account. We thought that would have been fine!

We were wrong...very wrong. The next day we received a very formal letter acknowledging the receipt of the payment but saying that anyway an eviction procedure would have been started in few days and we had to pack and leave. NO CHANCE GIVEN.

We tried to talk to the Agent ..to the solicitor but we will have to leave next Friday the 14th unless we like to fight in Court but be responsible for charges etc etc..

I must say we are shocked not for us not for the business but for our staff in particular that from one day to the other they will be left without a job...ONLY because we were one day late (12 hours) to pay the rent!!!

I am sure this is the correct legal procedure, (I have been told so by the Landlord very posh snobby solicitor, not only from Fettes but chairman, president ex President and so on of the American Real Estate Association) and I DO know that we should have paid the rent on time (first obligation of a Tenant) .
BUT is this the correct procedure from a business or human point of view...not only towards us (Terrible tenant paying since September with 10-20 days delay) but also towards other businesses, staff, supplier and the wider community in general. While I am sure was the correct legal way wouldn’t have been easy to be notified of our final terms for paying, at the leased premises??

It seems to me that the post modern society is always orientated towards protecting or attacking (depending on the circumstances) the "individual", losing completely the perception of the wider scale of "community" no matter how small or big.

We are a small independent Café, not linked to any multinational organization.
Recently we have taken a very strong view on supporting the Stop the War campaign and we start wondering if the harsh treatment we are receiving is coincidental .

We will leave next Friday the 14th of March, we will not fight in Court (we have no financial means) Edinburgh will lose a business ...yet another one, the staff will lose a job, the suppliers will lose a buyer, the Edinburgh Council will lose £8000 a year of Council Tax, and so on .

We will be evicted on the 14th March or even earlier, because we were 12 hours late…. What a way forward for promoting businesses in Scotland!

Many thanks for reading our letter


On The Mound
0131 226 6899
www.onthemound.com