A celebrated café business which expanded to a new venue adjacent to Charfield's £22m new railway station has confirmed it will serve its final coffee and cakes on December 8 after being forced to make the move by a "crippling" combination of daily costs and Chancellor Rachel Reeves' hike to NIC and the minimum wage.

A total of 22 jobs, in a mix of part and full-time roles, are set to go from the decision, which business owner Nicole Jones told Punchline-Gloucester.com is now unavoidable.

Nicole signed a six-year lease for the site of the failed Bridge Café in January 2023, close to the fast-expanding village's new Co-Op retail store and a short stroll from the railway station, which is due to re-open in spring 2027.

Her move followed a steady seven-year growth for the original café venture, The Vintage Birdcage Cakery at Kingsgate Park, in nearby Yate, and the company's second pin in the map was planted through the confidence of rave reviews for the business's bespoke high teas and bakery range.

Nicole told Punchline: "It's a fabulous site at Charfield and is sitting pretty for the new rail station but that's still two years ahead and we looked at the books and could not see a way to stretch that far. That means ending 22 jobs provided over the last two years – these people will all be on the dole shortly. How does that help the economy? It's crazy."

Nicole reluctantly invoked an exit clause in the tenancy, she said, after struggling to meet both business rates and the current rent of £3,300pcm. The business is being offered through Bolton-based brokers Knightsbridge PLC.

Back in January 2023 and buoyed by review success on its 130-cover seven-year-old café at Kingsgate Park in Yate, South Gloucestershire, Nicole opened the Vintage Birdcage Cakery on the Bridge to instant acclaim and the two outlets have accrued a social media following of more than 25,000 followers.

Nicole said: "It is heartbreaking. I left school with no qualifications, I felt useless and then I discovered this joy: all I have ever wanted to do was bake and create beautiful food, and I built this up from nothing. But we are now stuck between paying ever-increasing costs for rent, energy, ingredients and business rates, while footfall is still so fragile."

To make actual profit, she said the Charfield café would currently need to be selling a flat white coffee for £4.10.

"Who is going to pay that? It hurts when customers challenge prices on a cake at £4, but when you price in all of the costs sliced out of that, we do not have profit left. We are just surviving - takings are so critical, I even pay for my own coffees when I am on a shift."

She added: "I never began this to get rich; what has driven us is the reward from being abel to give people a commumity dimension. There are people who I am fearful for who live in Charfield who might see no one in their day if they didn't have this place. It is also poignant for my younger daughter. After six years' hard graft, Rosie came to me looking for an opportunity after college and I was proud to be able to give her this start at Charfield. What do I tell her and the dedicated people who work with us now?"

The listing with Knightbridge for the Charfield business shows it has a £630,000 turnover, with an adjusted EBITDA of circa £37,000, that figure coming from activity based on transactions with some 1,000 customers per week, as well as "heavy weekend footfall".

The "attractive converted barn setting with warm, intimate ambience" has a total 142 sqm, with both indoor and outdoor seating totalling 120 covers, as well as a generous car park. The Cakery also has a fully equipped kitchen, separate cakery area, retail space, outdoor fridge/freezer, and air conditioning.

Nicole is seeking a new owner for the business as a going concern, the existing retail offer offering a diverse menu of breakfasts, lunches, cakes, pastries, desserts and hot and cold drinks. Catering services for private events, baby showers, pop-up events, and community gatherings are also offered, with alcohol licenced until 11pm and a stated opportunity to extend hours and introduce evening dining.

The lease is priced at £39,600 per annum, with renewal due this December.

Ultimately, Nicole said the decision was sealed by the fact that business rates relief for the original premises were lost when she opened the second outlet, given regulations that preclude the relief if a business has more than one site.

She added: "I just feel completely let down. Hospitality is being overwhelmed and so many people like us are simply trying to make a living. Last year, we even had to switch off the heating at the Charfield café. These are the decisions businesses are forced to make simply to carry on."