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A West London café faces potential closure as the council considers selling the building from which it operates after the owner spent £65,000 fixing it up.
Theo's Café, which opened in Cowley in 2024, may be forced to close as the council plans to put the property on the market for open bidding. This is despite the café operator renovating what was a dilapidated building, and investing tens of thousands of pounds.
Erhan Sahin, Manager and Owner of Theo's, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he had sought to purchase the building from Hillingdon Council, which owns it. Prior to these enquiries, he says the council had not indicated any intention to sell.
Hillingdon Council told the LDRS that Cabinet is due to consider the disposal of Cowley Meeting Hall, where the café is located, at its meeting on December 23.
Erhan said: "I told the council I want to renovate the upstairs of the building too, but I need the security of a freehold for me to invest more. Now, they want me to go into a bidding war against multi-million pound companies which will probably just put flats here - they weren't interested in the place before I fixed it up."
When Erhan moved into the "rotting" Cowley Meeting Hall, the building was surrounded by fences, was without any plumbing or electricity, and had a wall that had collapsed.
See below for a before and after photo showing the transformation by Theo's (story continued below)
"They want a bidding war; they say it is because it is in the public interest to put it on the open market, but the public want us here. People finally feel safe in the park and have a place they want to go. But they say I can't be given priority."
Hillingdon Council says that is within the public interest to list the property on the open market, inviting other bids for the best value. However, it was only in September when Hillingdon Council awarded Grant Thornton, the former employer of an ex-cabinet member, a £700,000 contract without inviting other bids or holding a public procurement process - something Erhan described as a "contradiction".
A council spokesperson said: "In the interests of fairness and transparency and in accordance with the council's statutory obligations, the council is required to advertise its intention to sell the property - a public open space building – to the public and to consider any objections received before proceeding with the sale. Alongside this, the council has a duty to achieve best value when disposing of its assets, which in this case necessitates opening the process to the entire market.
"The manager of the café is welcome to submit a bid as part of this process, and council officers have been in touch with him regularly to explain the council's position and the process it is proposing to follow."
Erhan told the LDRS that he has "sleepless nights" as he lies awake worried about the prospects for the café, which is named after his four-year-old son. He says if the council does sell it to someone else, he will have "no choice" but to tear down the new wall he paid for, and strip the building back to its prior state.
He added: "Not only have I invested money into this place, I've invested blood, sweat and tears into it. I'm being penalised for investing and creating something for the community. If I have to chain myself to the gates, I will - I'm not leaving this place."
Erhan insists that he is not shying away from paying what is fair value for the property, but fears that a bidding war would price him out, forcing him to close the café. He says he has been attempting to put his side across to Cllr Jonathan Bianco, Deputy Leader of the Council, since mid-October.
However, since October 20, Cllr Bianco did not respond to over ten emails from Erhan across seven weeks, until the LDRS contacted the council. In his reply, Cllr Bianco reaffirmed the council's position on the matter.
Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour, Cllr Sital Punja, says the council's precarious financial situation and looming threat of bankruptcy is central to why community assets are being sold. She said: "Now, because the council is facing huge financial difficulties, almost a Section 114, and an application for Exceptional Financial Support from the Labour Government, they are trying to flash sale all these community assets that we have.
"Theo's Café have invested so much money in restoring and renovating this derelict building, and the council are capitalising on their hard work because they have financially mismanaged their money? I think it's really unethical, and more than that… I think it's taking advantage of our residents and our local businesses."