A company trading as “DP The Drinks People” (I haven’t yet discovered their actual company name) has created a smaller company, trading as “The Flying Coffee Bean”, which is bidding for the franchises to run railway station cafes on the basis that it is a small local company. It already has a stall at Brighton station. It has been awarded the franchise to run the cafe on platform 2 in Lewes train station.
Consequently, the genuinely local businesswoman who has run that cafe since 1984 has been given notice to quit, despite her collecting 5,000 signatures in support of her continuing to operate her successful business.
Please sign this pledge (activated if 1,000 people sign) to avoid The Flying Coffee Bean at stations. Here’s a short link to share the pledge with: http://m1n.me/hC
There’s a reason why so many towns and cities are identical. It’s because we didn’t act to change the rules of the commercial game. Lewes has plenty of form for standing up to big businesses (witness the year long picket outside the Lewes Arms pub when it was taken over and refused to stock local ale. The new owners were defeated.)
The objectives of this pledge are:
(1) to reinstate the existing business owner
(2) to maintain the character of Lewes
(3) to send an important message to large companies, telling them they cannot escape with corporate piracy.
Repel boarders!
I am fully supportive of your position, but it’s important to have the correct facts.
There’s no active company called The Flying Coffee Bean Limited. Companies House shows a dormant company in that name that appears to be unconnected. There’s also a company called The Flying Coffee Company which again appears unconnected. You can verify at http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04275388
Barny Clevely describes himself at the MD of The Flying Coffee Bean (note no Limited). He has a LinkedIn profile where he described himself and MD of DP Cappuchine Espresso (again no Limited). With a bit of detective work I now have his company director profile which can be found here http://company-director-check.co.uk/director/903412984.
To add clarity.
From examining the list of companies that Barny Clevely is involved in it appears that Flying Coffee Bean is probably FCB (Holdings) Ltd. The parent company is Mobile Coffee Carts .COM Ltd and the ultimate parent company is Vitaplex Limited. Its not unusual to set up this kind of tiered arrangement. It looks like rather than “Drinks People” DP originally stood for Donut Peddler and Mr Clevely has grown and expanded his business from very modest beginnings. Mobile Coffee Carts .COM appears to make a very very modest profit. The should certainly not be misrepresented as a large corporation. One might disagree with their decision to bid for Lewes station and the consequences of that decision but I think in other circumstances we would be championing them.
I still support boycotting them because I think it’s important to make a stand about what happened to the existing business at the Lewes station.
Hi James, yes saw much the same myself. So to whom, I wonder, exactly have Southern Railways awarded the running of the Lewes station cafe to? I shall write and ask, of course, though suspect I will get a cut-and-paste of previous online statements. The southern statement claims that Flying Coffee Bean has won the tender. If FCB is not a registered company this might get rather interesting. Note, FCB (Holdings) Ltd is shown on that director profile you posted. So that appears to be the company in question. No sign of DP – The Drinks People, on the sheet or indeed anywhere on Companies House. Is DP a ghost? Or do they go by yet another name in legal terms.
Who have Southern invited in?