Article 1: What Are We Doing Here?
Why indies matter and how they can prevail against the odds
Goldfinch is different things to different people. It is a bookshop at its core, but also a cafe and bar, a live performance venue, a club (with many different faces), a writing school, a meeting space, and most recently, a publishing service. Many independent bookshops across the country offer similar things, usually tailored to their specific community. Much of what we do at Goldfinch has been born from the suggestions and passions of our customers.
Our doors have been open for three years this November, and a look back over the figures tells me that we have hosted 628 events in that time, including kids’ clubs, support groups, gigs, live poetry, jam nights, book clubs, writing groups and more. With event attendance ranging from a few people for a club get together up to our top capacity of 75 for big events, that’s over ten thousand event-visits before you even begin to calculate the day-to-day interactions around book-buying and coffee drinking. That’s a lot of experiences for a lot of people. And we love it!
Not long after we opened the shop and our book club had reached 100 people, a book club member stopped to thank me for what we were doing. She was in tears, and it took a moment for me to understand what was going on, but it turned out that she hadn't read a book in years. Life had overtaken her, swallowed her up. Our book club had reignited the fire inside. She'd got to the end of her first book in years.
The live music has been a big highlight for me, something I’ve loved since I was a kid, venturing off at 16 years old to see The Cure in the Brighton Centre, queuing to catch the Pixies in the Portsmouth Guildhall or stumbling upon a new unknown bunch of rockers called Nirvana in the Portsmouth Poly student union. A monthly live music event at Goldfinch was always going to happen, but with the help of our fab musician in residence, Richard Walters, we’ve created something beyond anything I could have imagined. I had to pinch myself last January when Ben Ottewell (lead singer of Gomez, a Mercury Music Prize winning band I was obsessed with in the late 1990s) stepped up onto the little Goldfinch stage and floored the audience with his massive voice.
Spaces like Goldfinch offer opportunity to take part in creative activities with like-minded people or experience live performance close to home. These places connect people and open the doors to the arts for everyone, not just those in the higher income brackets, and that is nothing less than communities deserve. Whether it’s through the coffee, an event, or the bookshop, indies can offer an inclusive entry-point to the arts and creativity for a community. There’s no paywall for the shop, no entry fees. Anyone can come and browse, chat, meet. Indies offer an open door to an experience that might start with browsing for a book, and lead to joining a group, or a club, or trying out poetry night, open mic. The bookshop demonstrates that everyone is welcome, and everyone deserves access to the arts. But how does that offering stack up financially? Let’s explore.
The economics of Indies
In the good ol’ days of the ‘Net Book Agreement’ (see box), indies thrived. Before its abolition, there were over 2500 indie bookshops in Britain [ref Shelf-L p210], compared to under 1000 today. (For comparison, in France and Germany, where there remain versions of price protection for books, Indies thrive – with nearly 4000 in France and over 6000 in Germany.)
[BOX: The Net Book Agreement (NBA) provided a level playing field by making all booksellers sell at the same recommended retail price, preventing excessive discounting. This system acts to support small bookshops and preserve cultural diversity and ensures wider access and support for independent bookshops.]
With the abolition of the NBA, the door was opened for chains and supermarkets to discount, heavily. Supermarkets discounted to less than half the cover price, and still do, content to make a loss on books to attract customers who help them make money on other goods. Book shop numbers then shrunk further, opening the door to the unassailable rise of Amazon, who also entered the market selling discounted books. The might of the supermarkets, chains and Amazon demanding ever higher margins from the publishers then started driving down the publisher profits and royalties available for authors. It became a race to the bottom, at the expense of Indies, artists, and diversity. This sounds all too familiar in other areas of the arts - consider Spotify, which made itself indispensable to musicians and reduced their royalties to criminally low levels without recourse because of the virtual monopoly they hold. (We won’t mention the Spotify support to AI Weapons Research and their recruitment adverts for ICE agents in the US).
With the NBA gone, and unlikely to return, there is no protection for community independent bookshops or for authors. The big players can discount all they like and so they grow. For Amazon, the more significant it became for publishers’ sales, the more power it gained to drive down prices, resulting in reduced revenue for authors and for the traditional book trade. Amazon and Waterstones have both been known to use their muscle to demand an 80% discount from publishers for big titles, and the publishers cave in. At the same time independent bookshops are offered nothing like this level of discount. So little Goldfinch pays twice as much for a book from Penguin Random House as is paid by Jeff Bezos. The playing field has been truly imbalanced.
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“So what?”, some may say. That’s the way it works. And readers get cheaper books. This is true, and it’s also true that this has likely widened access to books to a larger proportion of the population, which is a good thing. But at what cost? The unfortunate side-effect is that the local Indies have lost a big chunk of their sales, a chunk that would have provided a baseline revenue upon which to build a viable community bookshop that offers a more curated list, championing not only the mass market, but more niche authors, outside of the mainstream. And of course independent bookshops do a lot more than sell books, as everyone who comes to Goldfinch knows.
It is no surprise that we often see independent bookshops opening with great ambition and community spirit, then running out of energy and closing down a few years later. Some keep the dream alive for longer of course, but increasingly against the odds. And what about the broader economic benefit? The two biggest of the big players are Waterstones (US-owned and funnelling revenue back to its overseas hedge fund masters) and Amazon (pays next to no tax in the UK). Is this better value than a local independent paying its taxes, opening its doors to non-profit-making community endeavours?
There’s a fabulous book by Jane Cholmeley, “A Bookshop of One’s Own” about the Silver Moon Bookshop which Jane started with her partner, Sue Butterworth, opening on Charring Cross Road in 1984. The Silver Moon was a beacon of independent thinking, a champion of women writers and feminist literature for nearly 20 years. For a bookseller, A Bookshop of One’s Own is an inspiring read, a call to arms for those of us who believe it’s worth fighting against the decline into homogeneity and inequality that seems to be the sustenance for those in power (corporate and political). Whilst the book may be seen as a tragedy – the shop eventually closed in 2001 after a decline following a 30% increase in rent – what I took from it is that enormous strides can be made by a collective belief, action and determination to fight to present an alternative message to the mainstream, prejudiced narrative. Sound familiar? Jane Cholmeley and her little team of booksellers changed the feminist landscape, providing an outlet for books that would struggle for shelf space elsewhere, facilitating debate and discussion, pushing back against the might of prejudice, and standing up for women’s rights.
The truth is, we need places to meet, to read, experience the arts, see a band sing a protest song, hear a poem, cry on a shoulder, stand up to an injustice, find solidarity in community resistance to the flag-wavers. Where are we going to do this? Sainsbury’s? Even the thought of doing any of this in a Waterstones is a stretch. Indie bookshops provide that space, a safe space for all sectors of the community. Remember my earlier statistic - 628 organised events at Goldfinch in 3 years, plus countless informal community connections over coffee, wine, music, poetry, books, art.
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If we dig a bit further into the economics of a high street independents in general and Goldfinch in particular, we can start to see the challenges with a bit more focus. It would be great to know who owns the high street in Alton. The word is that most premises are owned by out of town and overseas landlords with little interest in Alton’s community apart from its contributions to their great property portfolios. The landlord of our end of the high street owns our place, Stones and Peacocks next door, the flats above, the three shops over the road (Subway, Domino, Oxfam) and all the flats above and behind those properties. They may own more, but that’s all the inside info I have.
Did you know that high street leases, including ours, are typically ‘full repairing and insuring leases’? This means that the shop tenant is responsible for all the upkeep and maintenance of the premises, including the internal and external features (which includes the building fabric, roof etc). We are also responsible for all utilities maintenance and repairs. They are not like residential leases where the landlord looks after the place. Even the buildings insurance is paid by the tenant. It’s more like we own the place, except we don’t own it, we just pay as if we own it, plus the rent. Our lease also has what’s called an ‘upwards only rent review’ clause. This means that, at the rent review, the rent can only go up, not down. The cards are stacked in the landlord’s favour.
But what about the rent? The rental rates for new spaces that come onto the market seem to be reasonably consistent, so it looks like we pay a typical amount for the size of our place in Alton. We have around 1000 square feet of space and pay our landlord £26,640 per year plus insurance plus a share of maintenance costs for shared areas. Though this may be typical for Alton, across the country we see shops renting for between £10 - £25 per square foot, which makes it look like we’re paying over the odds. How can that be? Perhaps it’s because our high street in Alton is not owned by people who have any interest in Alton as a town. Their only interest is in their portfolio, and with so few landlords covering the entirety of our town centre, they set the prices. They squeeze those rents up as far as they can, and they’d rather see properties empty than reduce rents and affect their portfolio value.
One way of evaluating the viability of a retail business is to look at rent to turnover ratio. This metric can serve as an indicator of a retail business's financial viability, a metric to help inform decisions about managing the business. Generally, according to the all-knowing internet, retailers aim for a ratio of around 5% to 10% and not exceeding 15%. Turnover for our first three years has been around £170k to £180k per year, putting our base rent to turnover ratio at about 15%. Oh.
What about other shops on our high street? I’m not sure how we compare, and perhaps any Alton Indies reading this might be interested in these Goldfinch figures as a comparison to their own. I would certainly welcome a discussion with other indies about their rent to turnover ratios, and perhaps we can compare to the ratios under which the big boys operate (around 2 – 5% for supermarkets, 5 – 10% for chains, if the internet is to be believed).
High rents, coupled with the high business rates (our business rates went up by 241% this year - we now pay upwards of £4,000 per year in rates) and ever increasing energy costs, threaten the survival of independent, community shops like Goldfinch on our high street.
Where’s the hope?
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The community benefit of Independents
I don’t know any local independent business owners who are in it for the money. Unlike the chains and the megastores whose raison d’etre is to make money, local businesses in my experience are run by people with a passion for the services or products they supply, as well as the people they serve. With this passion comes something unique. A visit to an independent has the potential to educate, entertain, and provide connections within the community between the different businesses and their customers. Head to Cheese!Louise for your Christmas cheese board and find out about the cheese & wine event at Goldfinch and the special offer from Dill throughout December. The Ten Tun has brought brewing back to the town. These businesses are working together, creating community cohesion. We ran out of beer at one of our events and the Ten Tun team were on the case with one of their kegs. Cassidy’s needed a couple of audio cables when they had some live music one evening and popped round to borrow some from Goldfinch. At Goldfinch we sell lunches prepared across the road at Fillup. We all do this to maintain our businesses, but more than that, we do it to build connections that better serve our community and keep the money invested in the people that live or work in the region. This collaboration enhances our services and brings greater sustainability, a sense of identity in the community, support to local jobs, economy and local supply chains. The chains simply do not do this. They use national supply chains negotiated at head office for maximum returns, reducing benefits locally.
Independent businesses, if supported and enabled, can serve as the backbone of community cohesion and help foster a sense of local pride. Independents offer curated products and services tailored to the community, creating a distinctive character that reflects our local culture and heritage. The small shops, indie cafés, the galleries, museum, Goldfinch, and local bars become gathering places where we meet, share in the Arts, and build relationships. With this comes a sense of belonging.
It is the independent businesses that engage in community initiatives and events, supporting local charities and schools. This can help create a resilient community fabric where each of us is more likely to participate in local events and support each other. I have been known to drive to pick up a customer who otherwise wouldn’t be able to make it to book club. A colleague of mine helped a local resident with taking their old books to a charity organisation. At our own cost, we embarked on a project to edit, develop, typeset, cover and publish a story written by a local pupil from the Butts Primary school. We recently connected a customer in need of support in music recording to a specialist who could help. There are endless anecdotes of this type from our shop alone, and likely equal numbers from our neighbouring Indies.
Our local, independent businesses create jobs and work experience opportunities. Unlike chains and the large corporations that often relocate resources, Indies prioritise locals. At Goldfinch we offer work experience and volunteering opportunities to kids from the local secondary schools, the college, and Treloar’s. These often develop to paid positions where feasible. We prioritise local supply chains, sourcing our cafe and bar products, art and craft materials from nearby producers and artists. This supports other local businesses by investing money back into the local economy, circulating wealth within the community, ensuring that resources remain in circulation and enabling further community development.
Independent businesses like Goldfinch, and organisations like the Alton Arts Festival and the Hampshire Cultural Trust play a crucial role in promoting cultural diversity and offering access to independent literature and the arts. We showcase works from local authors and artists who may not find representation within larger, corporate entities. This inclusivity enriches our local cultural landscape and provides people with the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives, ideas, and creative expressions.
By providing a platform for independent artists and writers, we encourage creativity. Workshops, readings, and art exhibitions held in independent spaces foster an appreciation for the arts and inspire emerging talent. Our live music at Goldfinch, for example, is headlined by emerging artists on their way up, often supported by local artists looking for exposure and a place to develop their craft. As businesses promote cultural exchange, they help cultivate a vibrant and dynamic community. There is much evidence that these shared spaces offer significant mental and social wellbeing benefits.
Importantly, these spaces can provide escape from the stresses of daily life. The ambiance of places like Goldfinch, with a supportive atmosphere, open and inclusive environment, communal events and ethos to go the extra mile for those who may be (or feel) marginalised in our community, all promote self-worth, wellbeing and a sense of calm. By cultivating an inviting space that encourages dialogue, creativity, and community interaction, the independent businesses in Alton play a vital role in enhancing the social fabric of our community.
Third spaces, access to culture, and critical thinking
We could go further and suggest that access to culture is a fundamental human right. In fact, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is Article 27, which states that “everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” How do we safeguard this access? In Alton we have various organisations that contribute, including our Town and District Councils, local charities and trusts, and of course our independent businesses who champion local voices and provide platforms for their creative endeavours. By prioritising the needs of communities, these businesses and organisations ensure that cultural engagement is not limited to a privileged few who can afford a London theatre ticket, but is accessible to everyone.
Promoting access to culture fosters critical thinking, empathy, and understanding amongst people in the community. When communities can access varied forms of cultural expression, whether through local bookshops, galleries, or other arts spaces, they are better equipped to engage with the world around them.
I watched a video of a stand up comedy act the other day (many of you know that my little Ella does stand up now so we watch quite a bit…!) which went something like this:
“…another crazy thing about generation-X, we had this thing that I’m not sure we can even talk about anymore, it was called critical thinking… it was crazy, basically what you would do (this was in the old days), we’d listen to both sides of a story and then you’d make your own opinion…” Natasha Leggero, Instagram
Love that!
According to the inter-web, a European Commission Report in 2023 on Culture and Democracy states that participation in cultural activities has a clear and positive impact on civic engagement, democracy and social cohesion. It notes that cultural activities provide spaces for dialogue, community gathering, sharing and celebration, social interaction and collaboration, which helps build trust, tolerance, and empathy. A report by Arts Council England in 2017 sets out the significant contribution that arts and culture can make to keeping our communities healthy and happy and serves as a powerful argument for expanding the artistic and cultural offer. Researching a bit closer to home, the Booksellers Association & Arts Council England Report (2024) highlights that independent bookshops are “powerhouses of cultural enrichment and community engagement, nurturing readers and writers and serving as vital parts of the cultural and social landscape.”
This cultural engagement challenges perceptions, sparks conversations, and promotes social cohesion, making clear the moral imperative for supporting independent cultural spaces. It is interesting to note that Ireland is making its Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot program permanent, starting in 2026, which provides a weekly stipend to artists. This is intended to address the financial instability in the creative sector by providing a base income that allows artists to focus on their creative work, recognising the value that the arts bring, not only to the community and society, but also to the economy.
We are in an era where large corporations dominate the retail landscape. Not only this, they (and we know who they are) also dominate our sources of information, what our kids consume for hours a day, and how governments behave. And what’s sad (and scary) is that these corporations do not care about our community.
Considering all this, it becomes obvious that local control over our cultural spaces is critical for their effectiveness and their connection to the local community. That local control empowers communities and resists homogenisation. It can also help ensure the preservation of local traditions, values, and aesthetics.
So how do we regain or maintain control over our cultural spaces in the context of the economics of the high street discussed earlier? Community ownership of cultural spaces has the potential to provide a powerful avenue for the preservation of access to the arts and fostering equity. When cultural spaces are owned and managed by the community, they operate according to the values, needs, and aspirations of the people they serve. This ownership model is something I’ve been researching and exploring over the past three years as we have grown Goldfinch from fledgeling to teenage finch. The ownership model has the potential to help ensure that diverse voices are represented and that cultural offerings reflect the interests of a broader demographic rather than just catering to the affluent or mainstream. With this comes opportunity for collaboration, involvement, and active participation by community members. This inclusivity brings shared responsibility, and not only enhances access to cultural offerings but also fosters a sense of belonging, enabling individuals to experience cultural engagement on their terms.
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Community ownership models, such as cooperatives, Community Interest Companies CICs (which is how the Alton Arts Festival is set up), and Community Land Trusts (CLTs), represent innovative approaches to managing local resources and assets. These models have been set up for the very purpose of enabling communities to take charge of their cultural, social, and economic environments.
So, what are these community models?
Cooperatives: Co-ops are businesses owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. Members contribute capital, share in decision-making, and receive a share of profits. This model fosters community involvement, ensuring that operations align with the members’ values and needs.
Community Interest Companies (CICs) are a form of social enterprise designed to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. They operate under a structure that is the same as that for a Limited Company, so is familiar and standardised in terms of governance and legal arrangements, but also enforces accountability to the community, with profits reinvested into initiatives that serve local interests, such as arts and culture projects. Any surpluses or assets generated or owned by CICs cannot be passed on to profit-making organisations, they are ‘asset-locked’ ensuring reinvestment.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are interesting. They are nonprofit organisations that hold land for the benefit of the community. They can be used to create affordable housing, community gardens, or cultural spaces. By separating land ownership from building ownership, CLTs ensure long-term affordability and community control over local resources. There was a case I read about in the north of England where a community bought up a derelict (or partly derelict) street under a CLT and regenerated the housing to be available for the local community, rented back to that community at affordable rates.
The adoption of community ownership models, in my mind, can offer numerous benefits, the most significant of which is control and long-term sustainability. Rooting a space or facility in the community promotes ongoing engagement and investment in community wellbeing, with the community’s voice guiding decisions to ensure the longevity of the service or facility in the face of market forces. Community-owned enterprises are less susceptible to external economic pressures and fluctuations that can potentially kill off an independent business. Because profits are reinvested locally rather than extracted by distant shareholders, community-owned will prioritise community needs and adapt to changing circumstances. This resilience is essential in our challenging economic climates, where traditional businesses may struggle to survive, and this resilience does not currently exist in our town.
Other examples of where this has worked include the Bristol Community Land Trust which successfully creates affordable housing options through community-led initiatives. By acquiring and developing land for the benefit of local residents, they have addressed housing needs while ensuring that residents have a say in their living environments. Another inspiring case is The Hive, a community-owned arts venue in Shrewsbury. This cooperative space, owned and managed by local artists, offers an inclusive environment for creative expression and community engagement. The Hive exemplifies how community ownership can revitalise cultural spaces, ensuring they remain responsive to local needs while fostering collaboration and creativity. In other parts of the UK, Community Ownership Support Services help communities take control of local assets, including shops, cultural spaces, and land. These initiatives can result in enhanced local governance and better resource management, contributing to community resilience and sustainability.
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) is worth spending a bit of time with, as they have created an organisation that I think presents an interesting example of what might be possible for a community independent bookshop. According to the MVT, Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs) are where we come together to sing, dance, celebrate, cry and feel a part of something bigger. These rooms create unique moments of magic. They are spaces that turn the ordinary into the extraordinary and capture those moments that become folklore. The MVT acts to protect, secure and improve GMVs, recognising that these venues play a crucial role in the development of music, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and performance skills. The role grassroots venues fulfil is so important, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities.
To support their aims, the MVT has created an organisation called Music Venue Properties (stay with me…). If we consider that 35% of grassroots venues have closed in the last 20 years, we can start to appreciate their fragility, a state built on the fact that 93% of GMVs are tenants, and according to MVT, on average, these operators have 18 months or less left on their tenancies. Music Venue Properties (MVP) was created to tackle that challenge head-on. It is a Charitable Community Benefit Society. They buy the buildings that grassroots music venues operate from and rent them back to their current operators using their bespoke Cultural Lease. This lease is designed to reduce financial pressure by offering affordable rents, support with repairs and insurance, and flexibility during challenging trading conditions.
Fundamentally, landlords and venue operators do not share the same motivation. Venue operators want to invest in sustainability, accessibility, diversity, artists, and the venue itself. Commercial landlords focus on maximising return on investment. MVP has raised millions of pounds (from grants, investors and from community shares) and begun building a portfolio of unique, creative grassroots music venues across the UK - places now held in trust by a community that believes in protecting the future of live music. A recent purchase by MVP is The Joiners in Southampton which has been struggling and threatened with closure. The Joiners is essentially a pub. It has a maximum capacity of just 200 people (a bit more than twice the capacity of the gigs at Goldfinch) and has a long history of supporting up and coming bands, providing a place for them to play, to try out, to learn their craft. I dug out a list of some of the bands that have played at the Joiners, which includes Coldplay, Oasis, Green Day, Muse, and Arctic Monkeys. Jeez. Imagine catching Oasis or Coldplay in a little intimate space up the road. These places are important, and they are closing down for many of the reasons discussed in this article. Where are the great bands of the future going to try out, learn their craft, develop? But there is hope in organisations like the MVT.
So, where does that leave us?
In today's rapidly changing social and economic landscape, the importance of supporting community spaces cannot be overstated. Independent businesses, cultural venues, and local initiatives serve as vital hubs that foster connection, creativity, and resilience within our communities. These spaces not only reflect our unique identities but also provide essential access to culture, support local economies, and enhance our collective wellbeing.
Community ownership emerges as both a moral and practical solution to the challenges we face. By empowering locals to take charge of their resources and cultural spaces, we can cultivate an environment that prioritises access, equity, and sustainability. Community ownership models like cooperatives, Community Interest Companies, Community Land Trusts and Community Benefit Societies not only promote democratic control but also ensure that our cultural landscape remains vibrant and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the community members.
Basically, I’m writing down on paper some of the issues that have been floating around in my mind over the past few years as Goldfinch has been bedding in to the community. As we look forward to the next few years, I’m a little fearful of what it might take to keep Goldfinch alive, not just whilst it is being run by me and my family around me, but what happens when we are all out of energy? How can Goldfinch be set up to operate on more than passion, volunteers, and goodwill?
I don’t have an answer – yet. But I’m convinced of the importance of these shared spaces in our community, spaces that offer refuge, inspiration, culture; places that open up conversation that can challenge and resist; inclusive spaces that don’t chase the profits. So if it’s important, it’s worth exploring how it can be maintained long after I’m gone. What if Alton owned a building on the high street? What if that building could be purchased by securing investment from all over the place - grants and funds, investors, community shares, busking…! Whatever works. What if that building is owned by a community Trust, or not-for-profit charitable society so that it remained forever in the ownership of Alton as a community? What if that Trust had a constitution that required the building to house an independent bookshop and community creative hub for the benefit of literature and the arts in the community, leased at an affordable rent irrespective of high street economics and landlord pressures? What if? It’s worth exploring a bit more, I think. Come in for a cuppa and let’s talk about it.