Circus group 'devastated' as quadrupling rent forces them to close

A much-loved community circus in Cardiff has announced it will have to close its doors due to steep rent hikes leaving its members "absolutely devastated." Up Side Down Circus currently rents a unit in Tremorfa Industrial Estate but is due to shut later in May after new owners announced a rent increase that would see costs eventually more than quadruple and that's before VAT and business rates.

The community group is facing a rent increase from £5,448 per annum to an average of £22,050 per annum over several years, both before tax, under a new deal. Co-founder Chris Moore said: "We’ve worked so hard to create this training space and we have an amazing community here. I just can’t believe we’re going to lose it all."

Chris set the circus up in Splott as a community interest company with fellow circus performer and trainer Tammi Brown after the pair worked together at NoFit State Circus. They rented the unit from Business in Focus – a social enterprise designed to support Welsh businesses to start-up and grow. For the latest Cardiff news sign up to our newsletter here.

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Chris and Tammi worked hard, with help from family and friends, to transform the empty unit into a thriving training space used by professional artists, school groups, and community participants. Since 2017 Up Side Down Circus has offered evening and weekend classes including aerial hoop, aerial yoga, Chinese pole, juggling, rope and silks, with a focus on physical and mental health. Chris – who has ADHD, autism, and dyslexia – struggled to fit in at school but felt happy and accepted when he joined youth circus. He has worked hard to make the training space friendly and inclusive.

The group has around 700 members including 300 regulars with the team regularly organising community shows and providing space for professional performers to work. The cast from Wales Millennium Centre’s sell-out Christmas cabarets used the training space to rehearse and Ian H Watkins from pop group Steps has trained on the flying trapeze.

Business in Focus confirmed in January the building was due to be sold and, within a month, Chris was told there was a new owner who wanted to increase the rent. Documents seen by WalesOnline show the January rent was £454 before VAT, which would amount to £5,448 over a year plus business rates and VAT. A letter sent to Chris on behalf of the new owners detailed rent increases rising to £24,500 per annum before VAT after four years.

The tenants were offered either a five or 10-year lease with incentives of either a number of rent-free months or a graded increase in rent over the deal's first four years; the five-year lease starting at £16,500 per annum or the 10-year lease starting at £12,500 per annum. Both would rise steadily each year and amount to an average of £22,050 per annum across the term of the lease.

In other words, before business rates and VAT are accounted for, the circus would see its rent immediately jump by more than £10,000 per year with it ending up at more than four times what they currently pay after several years. With business rates, insurance, and service charges all set to rise too Chris said it would be impossible to continue the company he has worked to build.

Other small businesses in the units have also been affected. Chris said they have collectively engaged with Business in Focus and asked local politicians for support but felt let down and didn't know where to turn. He added writing to loyal community members to tell them he was going to have to close was one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to do.

Dr Jordan Holt, a clinical psychologist, who has been learning trapeze at Up Side Down for the last five years described it as her “safe space,” adding: “I’ve made so many friends here.” Residential childcare worker Darren Thomas, who trains flying trapeze and juggling, said he couldn’t believe the news, while designer and trapeze learner Paige Strugnell described it as “truly devastating”.

James Aston, asset manager on behalf of the building's new owner Culross Newcastle, said: "The proposed rent rise is over a number of years and remains significantly below the average price per square foot for similar units in that area."