A BUSINESS owner is threatening to quit Darwen Enterprise Centre claiming rents have shot up under the site’s new owners. The centre in Railway Road has recently been taken over by Regus, which operates more than 2,300 business centres worldwide. Dean Haworth, owner of the Real Thai Pie Company, said that since the takeover, from Evans Easyspace, his rent has gone up by £1,300 a year. He is also concerned Regus had shown little sign of investing in the centre, claiming other firms were also considering their future at the site. Mr Haworth’s concerns included two break-ins at the centre, the theft of three vans and the removal of communal bins, which he says have been taken away by Regus. He said: “There are loads of businesses moving out, already eight units have gone and more including my own are preparing to go. “There is no decent security around the place, the rubbish has nowhere to go now so where is all this money going? “They’re certainly not putting it back into the centre and the rubbish piling up is just disgusting. “It’s just not right what they are doing. “What I’m planning on doing is moving into my family’s bakery in the town and continuing to sell the pies. “I’ll reveal more on at a later date.” The Real Thai Pie Company has been based at the Darwen Enterprise Centre since 2012 and is the only company in the UK dedicated to making oriental pies. Last year the company built trade links with a luxury hotel in Thailand called The Banyan Tree Hotel, which also has resorts in Indonesia, China, South Korea, Vietnam and the Maldives. Regus has defended its decision to increase the rent and said that to make the business feasible it had to be done. A spokesperson for Regus said: “Regus acquired Evans Easyspace, which was in administration at the time, in 2014. Rates have recently increased in order to make the business viable and to bring Evans prices in line with local market levels across the whole of the UK.” In 2014 Regus opened its 2,300th business centre in Boulder, Colorado and opened in 50 new towns and cities. It also signed landmark deals with Heathrow and Gatwick airports,[27] as well as the Singapore government.[28]
The owner of Darwen Enterprise Centre has threatened to leave his tenancy at the Real Thai Pie Company due to increasing rent and building mismanagement. Dean Haworth claims that since the complex's takeover by Regus, rent has risen by £1,300 a year and eight businesses have already left the centre