North London Café Owners Escalate Dispute with Legal Challenge
The owners of three beloved North London park cafés have taken their fight to the High Court, launching a judicial review against the City of London Corporation. This legal action follows the termination of their tenancies, which they claim was conducted unlawfully and without transparency.
Background of the Café Operations
Hoxton Beach, operated by Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez, has been running the Lido Kiosk Café at Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath since April 2018, the Refreshment Pavilion at Queen’s Park since autumn 2018, and the Highgate Wood Café since May 2019. In July 2025, the City of London Corporation announced a review of leases for five cafés, leading to the termination of these tenancies by the end of 2025.
Public Outcry and Celebrity Support
The decision sparked significant public backlash, with a petition opposing the move gathering approximately 25,000 signatures. High-profile celebrities, including Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, and Stefan Campbell Moore, voiced their support for the café operators. This community-driven effort highlighted the cafés' popularity and local significance.
Legal Proceedings and Allegations
In January 2026, the City of London Corporation formally communicated the change, with café chain Daisy Green set to take over. Hoxton Beach was given just four weeks' notice to vacate. Lawyers from Leigh Day, representing Hoxton Beach, have now submitted a judicial review application, challenging the decision to change operators.
Emma Fernandez, co-owner of Hoxton Beach, stated: “We believe that the City of London has acted unlawfully and are incredibly grateful to our counsel and solicitors for the work they are putting in this case. We are also incredibly grateful to our community for their incredible support - as always, we remain open to engage with the City of London for negotiations should they wish to reach out.”
Claims of Unfair Process
Hoxton Beach alleges that the City of London Corporation did not conduct a fair or transparent tender process. On their GoFundMe page, they wrote: "We do not believe the City ran a fair or transparent process. In particular, they did not put the cafés out to tender but insisted it was simply a 'leasing opportunity', like when a council auctions off disused public toilets to become a club or bar. The deciding committee appears to have been denied key information—including positive public feedback about the existing operators from a 2023 user survey."
They further claim that they received no communication during the tendering process until a December phone call informed them their bids were unsuccessful, and no initial explanation was provided for why their proposals did not meet criteria.
City of London Corporation's Position
The City of London Corporation, which manages green spaces like Hampstead Heath as a registered charity, stated in an open letter that it launched a retendering process to ensure the cafés continue to deliver "a high-quality visitor experience" and that the operators had been trading under "unsustainable" at-will tenancies.
Legal Representation's Statement
Ricardo Gama, partner at Leigh Day, commented: “Our clients have successfully operated these three cafes for a number of years now, and during this time have built a strong reputation and gained considerable popularity. But despite their clear success, they now face losing the leases for these cafes. They argue that the process undertaken by the City of London Corporation has not been a fair one. The decision-making process has been taken behind closed doors and then presented to Corporation’s consultative committees and to our clients as a fait accompli. They believe that the Corporation is acting not like a public authority with specific statutory duties, but instead like a commercial landowner, and not a very rational one at that.”
Community and Financial Support
In response to the legal battle, Hoxton Beach has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support their case, emphasizing that "People don’t want another corporate chain—they want to keep the unique, locally rooted cafés that belong to these parks." This move underscores the deep community ties and the broader implications for local businesses in public spaces.
The outcome of this judicial review could set a precedent for how public bodies handle tenancy agreements and tender processes, impacting not only these cafés but similar operations across London. As the case progresses, it highlights ongoing tensions between commercial interests and community preservation in urban green spaces.
