Fight to Re-Open The Black Cap - Oct 2018 Halloween Supporter Update
What We’ve Been Doing In The Shadows
We know there’s been a bit of an eerie silence since our last message in April, but don’t worry, we haven’t ghosted you. We’re back with a little update and an invitation to a special Halloween event taking place THIS SATURDAY 27th October!
Short version: no major new developments, but we’ve continued our frightfully successful weekly vigils and howlingly entertaining media work; we’ve been exploring some thrilling new possibilities for the running and ownership of a re-opened Black Cap; and we’ve noticed the current owner doing some financial black magic. More on all this below!
As you know, the Black Cap’s owners, Kicking Horse Ltd, have been offering a 25-year lease of our beloved LGBTQ+ pub and ca-boo-ret venue since around this time last year. A lot of initial interest, not least from a number of reputable and experienced LGBTQ+ operators, ran up against various problems including an unrealistically high asking price and some unprofessional and uncooperative behaviour by Kicking Horse. So, for now, the Cap remains more like a haunted house than the vibrant and profitable hub of queer culture and performance that it should be.
As if this weren’t embarrassing enough for Camden and its LGBTQ+ community, we were spooked and saddened in August by the sudden closure of Her Upstairs on Kentish Town Road, leaving Camden Town with no queer venues at all, and only one or two in the whole borough. Which means Camden doesn’t exactly scream ‘diversity and culture’ like it used to! As the Specials put it, this town (aa-ah) is coming like a ghost town.
But that was definitely not the last nail in the coffin of Camden’s queer scene. We had a very constructive meeting in June with Camden councillors Danny Beales (Council lead on planning and regeneration), Pat Callaghan (Deputy Leader of the Council), Richard Cotton (councillor for Camden Town and former mayor), and Angela Mason (former Deputy Leader and also an early member of the Gay Liberation Front and former director of Stonewall – safe to say she definitely bats for our team!). We came away with an agreement about practical ways to blow away the cobwebs and get a credible plan on the table to re-open the pub, which the Council could then press Kicking Horse to accept. Later the same month we attended the Council’s Culture and Environment Committee to renew the case for the Black Cap’s cultural and artistic importance and the threat to Camden’s distinctiveness caused by its closure and similar incursions of chain shops, luxury flats, and offshore investors.
Meanwhile we’ve of course been keeping a little bit of the Cap’s energy and camp fun alive with our weekly gatherings outside the pub (even when it rains so much we end up like drowned rats), marching at Pride in London, featuring in a live recording of the Guilty Feminist podcast in Regent’s Park open air theatre, taking part in a gathering of ‘Outsider Pride’ LGBTQ+ activist groups organized by the wonderful Outside Project, and just a few days ago recording an interview for Roundhouse Radio (broadcast date to be announced). No rest for the wicked!
At the same time, we’ve been pursuing various avenues and talking to various people with a view to getting a strong offer on the table. This is still very much work in progress and we’ll keep you informed as it develops, but if you know of anyone who would like to contribute their business experience, financial expertise, evil genius, or other skills to this project, drop us a line at enquiries@weareblackcap.com.
We’ve also been keeping a close eye on the finances of Kicking Horse and its sister company Faucet Inn, which operated the Black Cap on behalf of Kicking Horse before it was closed down. We believe Faucet Inn’s revenue is probably being used to make at least some of the payments on the pub’s mortgage to shadowy offshore lender RS Luxembourg II SARL. In August we noticed that Faucet Inn’s website had been suspended – a temporary interruption, we thought, but two months later it still hasn’t risen from the dead. More significantly, Faucet Inn’s 2017 accounts were due to be filed at Companies House by the end of April 2018, but the company used a rather unusual loophole in the Companies Act 2006 to delay filing until 27 July, and then used it again to delay until 25 October. Companies House told us (see FOI request below) that this practice, though not illegal, ‘may be contrary to the intended spirit’ of the legislation, and that ‘the Government is concerned about these provisions potentially being used by companies to get around the requirement to file accounts’. They invited us to ‘draw [our] own conclusions about the fact that the company has not filed up to date financial information’. In the process of drawing our those conclusions, we were particularly interested to note that KuPP Ltd, a subsidiary of Faucet Inn, had used exactly the same method to delay filing its 2017 accounts twice (in April and July) before being put into administration in late August. Is the situation similarly grave for Faucet Inn? We’ll have to see whether they file their accounts on 25 October, or use the loophole for the third time at latest on 24th October.
But we’re much more exorcised about what’s happening two days later: on Saturday 27 October from 14:00 to 16:00 we’ll be holding a special Halloween vigil outside the Black Cap. Halloween has never been far behind Eurovision and Pride as a highlight of the Black Cap calendar, as befits a pub named after a legendary witch! And this time of year it’s become something of a campaign tradition to lift the spirits of passing Camdenites by dressing up and doing the Monster Mash and the Time Warp on the High Street pavement. This year our special guest will be drag diva and sixties-style singer Miss Krystal Ball. It promises to be quite a spectre-cle! So throw on your spookiest outfit and come on down – you can even learn some easy steps and join us for a dance. Zom-be there or zom-be square!
In the absence of major new developments, we have continued our successful weekly vigils and media work; further explored new operation and ownership possibilities; and kept an eye on the current freeholder company's questionable financial status.
And thank you again so much for your undying support. We Shall Win!
The Black Cap Foundation
Come to the Black Cap Halloween '18 Protest!
https://www.facebook.com/events/277249049589762/
REFERENCES:
Unrealistic asking price blocks re-opening of iconic Black Cap, campaigners claim
Owners insist they are marketing building at market rate
04 June, 2018 — By Dan Carrier
http://camdennewjournal.com/article/unrealistic-asking-price-blocks-re-opening-of-iconic-black-cap-campaigners-claim
The Guilty Feminist
110. Drawing a Line and Planting a Flag
http://guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com/110-drawing-a-line-and-planting-a-flag
WATCH: Black Cap campaigners warn Camden’s nightlife risks becoming ‘beige’ without iconic nightclub
Camden councillor 'very optimistic' that LGBTQ bar will one day re-open
26 July, 2018 — By Richard Osley
http://camdennewjournal.com/article/watch-black-cap-campaigners-warn-camdens-nightlife-risks-becoming-beige-without-iconic-nightclub
Loss of Her Upstairs means there are ‘no queer venues left in Camden’
End of drag and cabaret bar in Camden Town follows closure of Black Cap
22 August, 2018 — By William McLennan
http://camdennewjournal.com/article/loss-of-her-upstairs-means-there-are-no-queer-venues-left-in-camden
Faucet Inn puts KuPP in to administration
29-Aug-2018 By James Wallin
HTTPS://WWW.BIGHOSPITALITY.CO.UK/ARTICLE/2018/08/29/FAUCET-INN-PUTS-KUPP-IN-TO-ADMINISTRATION
http://www.faucetinn.com/cgi-sys/suspendedpage.cgi
Account Suspended
This Account has been suspended.
Contact your hosting provider for more information.
Companies House FOI Request Ref: NUM825971X Faucet Inn Limited
‘We would expect a third party to draw their own conclusions about the fact that the company has not filed up to date financial information on the register. However, the Government is concerned about these provisions potentially being used by companies to get around the requirement to file accounts.’ – Companies House, 30 Aug 2018.