Identity Crisis At Hamptons

As the Hamptons journey continues, we are sitting here scratching our heads as to the exact nature of the business. Virtually every platform or media type that Hamptons uses, describes the business as something slightly different:

Google “Sports Club”, but also appears sometimes as “mosque”
Facebook “Sports and leisure club” and “Performance and event venue”
Twitter “Sports and venue centre”
Instagram “no description”
Website “We specialise in meetings, boardroom venues, corporate events, banqueting for up to 240 seated guests, parties, etc.”

It’s vital for a business to identify it’s brand and core business, quite frankly Hamptons don’t have a clue.

Happy 9th Birthday

In fact the Hamptons Facebook page still boasts “Hamptons Sports & Leisure is a contemporary club with brand new facilities”. Brand new facilities !!! The club will celebrate it’s 9th birthday in a few days. the only new things at the club….are the mosque and the tin tea hut.

Still not a community centre

It’s clear from the documents submitted with the CLEUD application, that they are trying to promote Hamptons as a community centre, which would “establish a wider scope for worship and related religious activity” to facilitate the further development of the mosque, Thankfully the City Council weren’t taken in and refused the application.

Never misrepresent your business

We are particularly critical of the Hamptons website, which advertises services they don’t offer, and uses free stock photos to represent their product. The website even states “we have ample parking”, which of course isn’t true now, they have just 98 spaces for a venue that holds more than 700 people. It remains non-compliant with Essex County Council Parking Standards.

DONORS ARE CONCERNED

Having spoken to members of the Muslim community, they are concerned about the state of the business, and their hard earnt donations going to waste if it goes under.

With winter coming, and fuel costs increasing, the next 6 months will be tough for Hamptons. Staff are back from furlough (although on reduced hours), and even with a few large events booked in, without the bars, they only generate income from the venue hire.

The government bounce back loans are also due to commence repayment in January 2022, and there is the little matter of the Islamic loan to repay, which appears to still be in excess of £500,000

balancing the books

The kids summer camps (funded by the public purse), will help. But the venue needs to be booked solid, seven days a week, to generate the kind of income it needs to make the business viable. Even then without the additional revenue from a bar or cafe, it probably will be very tight. But this was the scene on Saturday night.

Loyal customers pushed out

Having lost loyal paying customers and closing the bars, and replacing paying activities with faith related non paying groups like Friday prayers and the Iqra Learning Centre, we can’t see how to balance the books.

Unless the Tea Hut starts making £5,000 a week, it’s not looking good for Hamptons

KBO