Abid Gulzar wants £3.5m, Hastings Council wants a new owner, and the Hastings Pier Charity wonders whether it can afford the challenge of running the pier. The battle of Hastings is back.
The future of Hastings Pier remains uncertain following last week’s confirmation that its owner, Abid Gulzar, intends to sell the 19th-century structure.
The self-proclaimed Sheikh acquired the site in 2018 for a reported £50,000 after the charity running it entered administration. Reports suggest the pier is now being marketed at £3.5m.
“I tried my hardest and put all my love and money into the pier and have decided at my age of 81 to let someone else take it on,” he said.
At 81-years old who wouldn’t be looking to hand things over? And Hastings Borough Council definitely feels that’s a good idea too.
On the market and on the look-out for a new owner, Hastings Pier is finding itself in a bit of tussle. Whilst Gulzar is advertising the attraction for sale, the council has formally notified the Friends of Hastings Pier group that it has the opportunity to submit a bid.
A spokesperson for the group said it was “optimistic” about a potential acquisition. “It’s early days at the moment,” they noted, acknowledging that the pier “could have a liability of several million.”
It’s an odd turn of events. The last time the community got engaged with controlling the pier, the charity charged with that responsibility back in 2017 drove the attraction into liquidation – a process that literally set the Gulzar wheels in motion.
The pier’s new community grouping eight years on are certainly dedicated to the cause, but as good old Bill Clinton stated, ‘it’s the economy, stupid’.
And it’s the economics of Hastings Pier that’s at the very heart of the issue.
The costs of running a pier are immense from the provision of entertainment to the upkeep and safety of the structure.
John Bownas, business improvement district manager at Love Hastings, warned “valuations on things like piers are complex and often very subjective,” combining “huge community value” with the reality that “they are money pits in terms of ongoing maintenance.”
He warned that “cash values are ultimately what someone is prepared to pay,” adding that with repairs “potentially running into millions,” a “stalemate” could emerge between the owner’s price expectations and what a realistic buyer might offer.
That might be a warning to Mr Gulzar, but it’s also a reality check for the Friends of Hastings Pier, and indeed the council too. According to a recent article in the Independent, Friends spokesperson Mr Chang conceded “that the pier in its current state could “have a liability of several million”.
And that is the economic reality. As everyone knows, unless the pier has a sound operator with a viable business plan that puts a 364-day amusements offering at the very centre, turning the economics into a real future is going to be a tough gig.
Friends are great – until you ask them to keep putting their hands in their pockets to fund a multi-million pound project that is run on emotion rather than economics.
Former councillor defends Gulzar era
Former Hastings Borough councillor Brett McLean has spoken out in defence of Abid Gulzar, after widespread criticism of the entrepreneur’s ownership of Hastings Pier.
Commenting on the imminent sale of the landmark attraction, McLean took to Facebook to praise Gulzar as “a businessman with a vision.”
“Abid Gulzar has invested heavily in Hastings Pier over the past seven years,” said McLean. “Since Mr G has owned the pier we have seen a lot of development.”
“[This] started off with the installation of an ice cream hut, then the installation of four very expensive cabins for the benefit of small independent businesses, investment in cosmetic external decorations, installation of external lighting stretching from the land end of the pier to the sea end of the pier, substructure repairs over the past several years, all of this to ensure the preservation of this unique pier.”
