Much loved farm shop owner explains reason behind closure
Stephen Price
The owner of a beloved farm shop has shared an emotional update, explaining why he has had no other option but to close the popular attraction.
Moody Sow Farm Shop is part of Cefn Mably Farm Park which is located on the outskirts of Cardiff, featuring a mixture of farm animals, indoor soft play areas, crazy golf and a train ride around the park.
The award-winning farm shop sold local and home-grown produce, supporting a variety of local growers and producers, “where homemade and ethically sourced produce take centre stage”. They were known for many for their meat sourced from independent farmers who “prioritise ethical practices and animal welfare to ensures the best quality traceable produce”.
Sharing the news on Facebook on Thursday 15 January, the farm park wrote: “Our Beloved Moody Sow Farm Shop Is Having To Close Due To The Miss Management Of Our Government And The Taxation Burdens That They Are Putting On Business…
“All Perishable Items Will Be Sold At 50% Discount And We Will Permanently Close The Doors On Sunday 25th Of Jan. Support Your Local Businesses…
“Cefn Mably Farm Park Is Open As Usual.”
A Facebook reel added further insight into the reason behind the closure, with the Park’s owner, Rhys Edwards condemning the UK Labour Government and Cardiff City Council, sharing: “Evening guys. This is a very important post for us and a very sad post. Our beloved farm shop here at Cefn Mably Farm is having to close.
“The reason for that is the trading and business conditions in this country at the moment is unbearable. I think the mismanagement of pretty much most things in this country at the moment by our government is hurting everyone in the business so much, especially hospitality, especially the shops, especially the small businesses.
“The food inflation we’ve had is crazy. The taxes, the PAYE that we’ve had put on us last year on the wages has absolutely killed us. and many others – we’ve got more rates, rises now, business rate rises that is going to be happening in April – these business rates for us, for instance, at the moment we pay £55,000 a year and the council don’t even grit our roads or fix our potholes.
“We have businesses up the road like the golf range and the fishing lakes that also pay huge amounts of business rates and share the same road as us. And we can’t get the potholes fixed and we can’t get the roads gritty to get the customers to us, but everyone wants to take the money.”
“We’ve just had the valuation office trying to put our rates up and for some reason is valuation works all around the country for business rates, and it’s all done on rentable value and square footage. And for some reason, for farm parks and us at the moment, they want to do a percent of turnover. So everything that comes down to us, 20% goes to the VAT man.
“They want 8% to go to them. By the time we do our PAYE and everything else, there isn’t anything left. So, sorry to ramble on, but what that gives us is we’ve got some amazing staff that’s been in this farm shop for over 15 years. And we’ve built this farm shop by our bare hands, and now we’re having to close it. The main thing I’m saying to you guys is you need to support us as the Cefn Mably Farm.”
“This country is going to the docks”
Hoping to encourage people to support existing small businesses, he added: “The Cefn Mably Farm is always going to be here, but you do have to support it. And when I say that, you’ve got to support it when it’s raining and in the cold days, you need to be getting your kids out of the house, that they should be getting out the house and coming to us.
“And not just us. You need to look around and look after all your local businesses. Because I personally think this country is going to the docks. And everyone I know in business thinks this country is going to the docks. And unless we try and do something and help our local businesses, I don’t really know where it’s all going to end up.
“All I know is we’ve lost our little farm shop, this meant a lot to us. And we worked very hard on it over the years, but if the figures don’t add up, the figures don’t add up. At the moment, we lose money every day by opening. So it’s hurt us very much, especially in our hearts.
“And this is a post that please, you need to share around, and we need to get this about a little bit. I’ll do some posts now to let you know, the shop is going to probably open just one more week this weekend, in the week and next weekend.”
“And, you know, we’re going to put probably everything that’s perishable here, we’ll put on a 50% discount because it needs to be sold or it’s going to go in the bin we’re going to the toys won’t come into that yet.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do with the toys, but anything perishable in the shop, come down.
“Anything here, 50%. we got some alcohol here still and but it’s a sad day.
“And I don’t know if it’s fixable. I mean, the country, that is. But it ain’t cool. And I don’t know.
“Look around your local businesses. Help and support your local businesses. Otherwise, we’re all in the mess.
“Take care, guys. See you at the farm park.”
An outpouring of comments followed the post from Rhys, with Elaine Borja writing: “That shop was a little hive of treasures for adult and children to get a memory of a fun day out.”
Among the hundreds of comments, Sharron Taylor added: “I feel for you guys! Having worked in hospitality now for over 30 years, l have seen so many good businesses close due to spiralling costs and taxation since Covid. Living in Pembrokeshire l see lots of small businesses struggling to make ends meet or survive winter without tourists as locals do not have the money to eat out, visit pubs or shop local as they once did.
“This is due to our government constantly taking advantage and not giving support where needed. I really hope this is just a blip for you guys and you find a way through.”
Herbert Looby shared: “This video should be added to the business studies curriculum to show how taxation is indeed crippling business!!
Chris Williams said: “Devastating news. From one small business owner to another, we feel your pain. Most will never understand the work, and often lack of reward that goes into keeping people employed against all the current odds, as you build your business.”
While Abi Rose Jones wrote: “It’s so sad that so many small businesses are having to close. They are pushing rates up to purposely hit businesses so they have no choice but to close, the government do not care about anything or anyone in this country. They only care about lining their own pockets, and their agenda.”
Find out more about Cefn Mably, and arrange your visit here.
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Very sad indeed to hear of this and other businesses closing due to taxation, business rates etc, but how profitable were they prior to last year?
Agree that government need to do more, but they have faced 14 years of neglect. Also I get confused when businesses moan about paying minimum wage increases yet say people don’t have spare spending money?
“they want to do a percent of turnover [..] they want 8% to go to them”
Isn’t that the rateable value, not the tax bill.
Well yes, but Rates is Tax. We can label these taxes however we want but its all being taken from businesses by government. The key thing about Rates, Employers NI, Statutory Pensions, Insurance Premium Tax etc is that all these need to be paid regardless of whether a penny of profit is made. Then, if profit is made, Corporation Tax or Income Tax take another big bite again.
We can get all ideological and debate “fairness” but the reality is that Government can’t keep upping tax when the money isn’t there to pay it.
The point wasn’t an ideological one about tax. If the business is closing unnecessarily because of a misunderstanding that businesses rates would be taking 8% of all turnover then that’s a shame.
Was about to sympathise but they made it political, so Im going to tell everyone to boycott these from now on..
Not much point in boycotting a closed business
They must have been barely scraping by if these increases have shafted them. But when you consider that the Tories foisted austerity on us, which forced everyone’s wages to be lower for over a decade, not to mention Brexit which a large number of Farmer voted for. It might not be as simple as Labour “miss- management” (sic) and more Tory mismanagement that’s destroyed the business. This has been building thanks to the government they put in place in 2010, So given those points, estimates suggest an average of 10k less to spend in 2024 had the Tories not restrained… Read more »
Yeah but then the business owner wouldn’t get to make a clumsy self serving political statement on his social media
The Labour government has to increase Welsh organisations taxes to maintain Amazons tax breaks.
Lots of services stations have Starbucks and Coca-Colas Costa Coffee selling pre-packaged junk food whose owners pay limited taxes.
Since Trump pulled out of Paris Climate Agreement I have reduced spend with USA organisations, including trying to boycott all USA owned coffee franchises and buy from local businesses instead.
Good thinking. Consumers would do well to be a lot more selective about what they buy and from whom. That might have been a good rule for eternity but right now it’s becoming a default rule if you want your spend to count for anything.
Did he mention the massive Covid and insurance payouts he had in 2020 that enabled him to expand the site? Or the fact he forced staff into work on 7/12/2024 when there were met office warnings to stay home and now he complains about paying staff
More business tales of woe. I don’t know a poor businessman. Do you? All the businessmen/women I know drive around in top-of-the-range vehicles and live in grand houses. Try living an ordinary pensioner’s life for a few weeks and then these businesspeople would know what real hardship is.
If it’s as easy as that why didn’t you do it?
What a stupid reply. Did I say it was “easy”?
Then have a bit more respect for those that don’t take the easy route of normal jobs.
….and that is another stupid reply. Never worked on a factory production line have you?
Didn’t say the jobs were easy. But you just need to turn up when you’re supposed to and do what you’re asked to do and you get a pay cheque, until the business runs out of customers.
It’s so funny to me that you’re here clutching your pearls because someone made a point about wealthy business owners and also insulted people for not being business owners. Why do you have such contempt for the people that actually make businesses function day to day, and such reverence for those that profit from their labour?
Neither should be treated with contempt. There are no jobs without business owners and there are no businesses without workers. And for every business owner golfing half the week there are many more desperately chasing unpaid invoices and begging banks for overdraft extensions wondering if they’ll be able to pay their staff at the end of the month, let alone themselves.
I just cannot sympathise with any business that complains about having to pay a decent wage.
Sad day ,yet its been spun negatively against the Gov’t
Reform will be all over this like a rash
It was the double whammy of COVID and flooding .
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/18250546.cefn-mably-farm-park-facing-year-long-closure-due-floods/