Tenants at the centre of a cafe dispute in north London have secured the right to challenge the takeover of their cafes. Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez, who operate under the Hoxton Beach brand, run three cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park.
Nearly a year ago, following a retendering process by the City of London Corporation, their bid to continue operating the cafes was unsuccessful. The tender was awarded to Australian group Daisy Green and local operator Cosmin Stuparu.
Judicial review approved
Mr Matthews and Ms Fernandez accused the City of London Corporation's process of being unfair and filed a judicial review in March to challenge the retendering process. Seven months after filing, their application to challenge the decision has now been approved by a High Court Judge.
Speaking to the Ham & High, Mr Matthews said: "We feel vindicated in voicing our doubts about this process, but above all grateful to everyone who helped fund our appeal and for the amazing legal team at Leigh Day and our barristers who made this happen."
Ms Fernandez told the Standard: "It shows that our concerns have been legitimised. I'm quite confident that our arguments are valid and on many grounds, we didn't feel like the tendering process had been assessed fairly."
Public support and new cafe
Mr Matthews also thanked the 25,000 people who signed the petition, including high-profile figures like MP Tulip Siddiq and actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Daisy Green has already opened a new cafe at Parliament Hill Fields, which belonged to a different operator, but is still waiting to take over two of the three Hoxton Beach cafes. The third Hoxton Beach cafe at Highgate Wood is lined up to go to Cosmin Stuparu.
Prior to taking over the cafe, Daisy Green owner Prue Freeman told the Standard that she and her husband had run the family business for over a decade, without any venture capital control, despite misconceptions from the public.
Corporation responds
Ms Freeman explained that their tender was focused on supporting community projects and insisted that the process had been transparent. "We were on a level playing field. We put forward our tender based on the criteria we were given. It's very difficult to see how there wasn't transparency in that," she said at the time.
It is understood that the City of London Corporation considered more than 30 bids for the tender. Hoxton Beach's tenancy was also understood to be a tenancy at will, usually only used on a temporary basis.
A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said: "We note the Court's decision and will continue to defend the claim robustly. Our process was lawful, open and the only fair and proper way to secure the future of all five cafés. Daisy Green and Cosmin Stuparu submitted the strongest proposals and demonstrated the best long-term plans for these important sites. These ongoing proceedings are diverting charitable resources that could otherwise be spent improving and maintaining our open spaces. As charity trustee, our focus remains on protecting these assets and delivering the best possible service for visitors."
