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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Sarah Butler

‘This is a perfect storm’: York’s historic shops on brink as costs bite

Kerry Elstob, owner of Just Smile Designs in York, fears a potential rent rise will force her business to go online
Kerry Elstob, owner of Just Smile Designs in York, fears a potential rent rise will force her business to go online. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

“The community has just broken up,” said Bryan Furey, former landlord of the Gillygate pub in York, who was forced to called in administrators in July after his energy bill almost tripled to £2,500 a month.

Sitting in the deserted garden of the pub, which until recently hosted theatre and quiz nights, a conker championship and customers on cycle tours, along with many regulars, Furey said the massive energy bill was the final straw in a pile of difficulties that had weighed on the pub.

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