Profit share cafe in council headquarters to expand

Work is under way to expand both indoor and outdoor café seating at the council's Brock Hill headquarters

A cafe based in a Leicestershire council's headquarters is to expand in a profit sharing deal with the struggling authority.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council said it had agreed to lease out more space at its base in Brock Hill Country Park in Oadby.

The council has shared the building with Jenno's Coffee House since September.

It said the arrangement would boost its guaranteed rental income, which would be topped up by an undisclosed share of the café's profits.

Councillor Bill Boulter said the authority wanted to make better use of space at its headquarters

Councillor Bill Boulter, chairman of the authority's service delivery committee, said: "Like many councils, we have a real challenge to balance our books.

"We have to find new and innovative ways to generate income and this is one.

"We get more rent from a space - a meeting room - which doesn't get used much and if the business does well, we also do well.

"I hope everybody wins from this."

Mr Boulter said he could not reveal the anticipated level of income from the profit share because it was commercially sensitive.

However, he said the financial risk of the deal was "entirely on the business".

Paul Jenno said the council's headquarters was an ideal location for a cafe

Work on the cafe expansion is currently under way.

Paul Jenno, director of Jenno's Coffee House, said the location of the council headquarters made it ideal for a cafe to serve the popular country park.

He confirmed the company was footing the bill for the expansion, and the profit sharing agreement meant the council would maintain an income.