Creating a space to heal

Aim: Enabling the continuation of the healing space for all. My business needs a little help upfront in return for a juice and a healing

This fundraiser is focussed on moving forward to help people heal. I absolutely LOVE what is being created in the healing space and I know I am on the right path. It is amazing to be able to help people get better.

The background is the background, it is historical and behind us. In order to move forward we must take the first step.

My little health food shop in Fitzrovia, London is in danger of being closed down and I have only been trading since Feb 2025. When I bought the business, we knew it needed some TLC and some cleaning. Three days were allocated for deep cleaning and then aimed to be open to trade in food.

Instead it took a month before I could open.

In the days after taking the keys, I found a cockroach infestation in the kitchen, a rats nest in the drain, the drains blocked with cooking fat, very bad water leaks, no hot water for handwashing in the toilet and many other problems.

It meant I could not continue to serve hot food, as the previous business was doing. They were serving hot curries until the day before I took over. A food hygiene score of 4 was displayed at the window.

My plans to continue the very successful lunch time hot food trade (the basis of my financial forecasts going forward) were scuppered immediately.

The toilet hadn’t even been cleaned and it had to be replaced. They had told me they would be replacing the boiler (as we had noticed there was no hot water in there for hand washing after using the toilet) - but the boiler hadn't been replaced. Instead the old boiler had been turned on (so it appeared there was hot water in the loo once we took over the premises) but in fact the boiler was leaking badly and situated behind a panel. so the leak wasn't found until Pimlico Plumbers were on site.

The floor had old cooking oil drips all the way from the kitchen out to the back drain. The floor in the kitchen had water all underneath from a leak and was the perfect breeding ground for the oriental cockroaches. Everything was covered with multiple fridges, heavy freezers, boxes and heavy furniture. There was also significant and unreasonable amounts of rubbish left behind (for example old broken crates, broken chairs, broken appliances, a huge heavy filing cabinet locked with no key, dirty old sheets and towels, out of date stock, I could go on for a long time) Enough old rubbish to fill a large skip at significant cost.

All appliances, fridges and freezers were condemned by pest control because of the high probability of cockroach eggs within the motor units (which are not effected by fumigation) so I lost all the assets I had purchased (12 appliances in total inc the coffee machine that I was told was broken on the day I took the keys!).

The costs of clearing all the items behind, clearing the rats, cockroaches, drains, leaks, fixing everything, paying for skips and specialist fridge removals PLUS the time lost trading amounts to over £25,000. I am months behind my daily target sales because of this situation.

The previous business owner (also turned out to be the landlord), didn't tell me about the cockroach infestation or any of the issues, and the shop was serving hot food until the day they closed. There is no way I could serve food knowing about the pest issues and everything else.

After one month and multiple pest control visits, there were still cockroaches popping up. Pest control company told me the problem was extensive and long standing. Pimlico Plumbers wrote on their report that the building drains were in a very poor condition and had never been serviced. Senior environmental health official called the condition of the building/business “appalling”.

I am so far behind in trading now, all the money I had to start up the business and pay my initial rent has gone on everything described above. It was the correct action to make the building clean and up to regulatory hygiene standards in order to serve food. I asked for a rent reprieve or some help with the costs, which ultimately is improving the asset of the building.

But the landlord (previous business owner) would not accept this, their agent wrote to me saying they were "disappointed" I was behind with my rent. Instead of allowing me a grace period to catch up with my rent, they sent the bailiffs on Friday 16 May 2025 to remove assets from the shop.

The bailiffs threatened to remove everything in the shop and effectively force me to cease trading that day. It meant I would lose my house.

I just want to run my business as intended and to help people heal as I have done in recovery from cancer. 

If they had told me about the problems beforehand I could have factored it all in. I could have helped them clean up before I took over so that I could have traded as intended by my business plan.

There was really no need for any of this.

There are patients in UCL hospital next door who come to my shop for healing fresh cold pressed juices, herbal remedies and well being. Patients love the space and it gives them a chance to nourish and heal. I have cancer patients that come for supplements, healing tinctures and the healing space. People coming for treatments at the hospital tell me they feel much better after being here.

I want to focus on this and move forward and make a positive impact on people's health. NOT get embroiled in a legal battle with the previous owner which will take all my time and energy in resolving and is made impossible where common decency and honesty have fallen down.

Donors who can visit the shop receive a fresh cold pressed healing juice and a healing on site.  Remote donors can receive remote healing for themselves or a nominated person. Suggested donation £5 

Thank you

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th August 2025 at 4:09pm