Charity coffee shop closes due to rising costs

The b.kinda coffee shop, which opened 15 months ago on Plympton's Ridgeway, has shut

St Luke's Hospice Plymouth has announced the closure of its coffee shop due to financial challenges.

The b.kinda coffee shop, which opened 15 months ago on Plympton's Ridgeway, has closed with immediate effect, the charity said on Monday.

Profits from the venue went towards funding end-of-life care for St Luke's patients and their families.

The charity's CEO George Lillie said the "impact of heavy overheads" had taken its toll.

He said: "When you add in the additional pressures of increased employer National Insurance contributions and the rise in national minimum wage, sadly we feel unable to continue operating the business.

"We are so grateful to the staff who put their hearts into trying the make the coffee shop a success.

"They did such a fantastic job of creating a friendly and welcoming space where members of the local community really felt at home, and that's what makes this decision such a tough one."

Mr Lillie said "a robust closure process" would be in place and "every effort" would be made to offer alternative roles within St Luke's for contracted staff.

'Focusing on retail'

The coffee shop is planned to become the new home for St Luke's retail presence in Plympton, the charity said.

Mr Lillie added: "With the majority of our funding coming from the local community, we need to raise millions of pounds every year to support St Luke's end-of-life services.

"We had hoped that branching out into the coffee shop market would be a profitable enterprise. Sadly this has not been the case.

"For the time being, in terms of income generation, we will be focusing on retail and the continuing growth of our successful local charity shops, as well as both established and new fundraising initiatives."