'Crippling rent' forces closure of both Brick House bakery sites

The owners of Brick House have announced that they will close both London bakeries due to a "crippling rent increase" in East Dulwich and the expiration of the lease in Peckham.

Fergus and Sharmin Jackson said that they had found themselves "in the unfortunate situation of facing the loss of both of our premises within a couple of months of each other".

The pair added: "A crippling rent increase is forcing us out of East Dulwich, and our landlords in Peckham have decided not to re-new our lease when it expires in February. We thought that we had found a solution to move the mother-ship to a new premise around the corner, but expensive and protracted negotiations combined with the timing of losing BH Peckham mean the numbers for us to carry on just don't stack up."

They opened the East Dulwich bakery in 2015 offering brunch dishes such as smoked haddock, spiced potatoes, soft boiled egg & curry leaf yogurt and shakshuka, spiced tomato and peppers with an egg, zhug and yogurt, alongside many options served with their sourdough bread. The Peckham site opened in 2017.

The Jackson's added: "It's a bitter pill to swallow but having looked at all the options we feel like our hands are tied and this is our only option.

"To say that we're heartbroken would be an understatement. Over the past eight years we have poured everything in to Brick House to make it a success, and to for it to come to an end in a way that has felt very much out of our control is extremely upsetting.

"As for what's next, we don't really know. As anyone working in hospitality will tell you, this business is hard and involves lots of personal sacrifice, so we are looking forward to spending a bit more time together as a family and getting some rest."