Support Spirit:

On Monday (03/11/08) Bailliffs are coming to disposess Spirit.

Gather outside Spirit’s shop to show support and solidarity
from 8.30 am Monday 3rd November.

* Please spread the word!*

Support Spirit:

On Monday (03/11/08) Bailliffs are coming to disposess Spirit.

Gather outside Spirit’s shop to show support and solidarity
from 8.30 am Monday 3rd November.

Share breakfast outside Spirit’s shop and home on Broadway Market (London Fields end).

Spirit the shopkeeper of the Nutritious Food Galley on Broadway Market is due to be evicted on Monday morning by his speculating landlord after years of struggle to keep the home and business he built up from a derelict shell. Broadway Market will suffer without Spirit’s friendly presence and we already all miss the cheap and nutritious food his shop provided.

The community says no to eviction and no to dispossession! Come to the shop to show your support!

Join the update email list here:

http://spirit.hackneysolidarity.info/

Background:

On 25th SEPT, the court ruled NOT to grant Spirit more time to pay off the remaining money he owes his landlords.  Bailiffs are authorized to come and EVICT Spirit from his shop and home on Monday the 3rd of November.

* Spirit has been living and working at the premises at 71 Broadway Market since 1993.

When he first rented the building from Hackney council it was derelict and Spirit has invested £52,500 of his own money and six year of his own labour to turn it into a thriving business, selling fresh food and fish at affordable prices.

When Hackney Council auctioned off many of its commercial properties in 2000-2003 it should have given Spirit, the long-term lease holder first option to buy his property. At the time Spirit made it clear to all parties involved with the sales that he was determined to buy 71 Broadway Market.

Spirit went to the Council’s auctioneers on the morning of the auction and signed a document that he believed was a contract of sale. He handed over a cheque for £10,000 as a deposit to buy the property for £100,000.

Just hours later the Council’s auctioneers sold the building to an offshore investment company based in the Bahamas for £85,000 - £15,000 LESS than what Spirit had offered to pay for it!

Six days later the auctioneers, Nelson Bakewell, returned Spirit’s cheque to him without explanation. Hackney Council has never been able to explain why this happened.

The eviction is despite the fact that Spirit is up to date with his current rent and in addition has paid off over £28,000 since October 2005. This is the sum total of all his existing rent arrears.

The remaining amount, which forms the basis of the landlord’s successful application for a bailiffs eviction warrant, is a far lesser amount equaling the landlord's legal costs, resulting from Spirit contesting the 2005 possession order in his fight for his shop and home, prior to receiving legal aid for his case.

Today’s ruling did not take into account that Spirits rent arrears and associated court costs were incurred as a result of Spirit's landlord increasing his rent by over 700% after acquiring the building from Hackney Council and that the circumstances surrounding the sale are still disputed.

SPIRIT VS. HACKNEY COUNCIL

Spirit is taking Hackney Council to court over the sale of his premises hours AFTER SPIRIT HAD ALREADY PUT DOWN A CHEQUE DEPOSIT for the building.

Spirit has now been granted legal aid to bring this case.

The Council has filed a Defence denying his claim and if no out-of-court settlement is reached, the case will be heard by a court in several months time.

We hope that the judge will find that Hackney Council sold Spirit’s property unlawfully.