A DAD has been left wondering how he will feed his kids after being forced to close his car washing business to make way for EV chargers.
Blair Isufi, 43, has been given just 30 days to leave a Morrisons car park in Canterbury, Kent, after 12 years at the site.
BLRM hand car wash was informed via email that the business was being booted out of the site “to make way for electric car charging stations.”
Although Blair Isufi, 43, signed a five-year continuation contract in January, he has been given just weeks to find an alternative location.
He claims the lack of notice is a “rope around his neck” that will put him out of business, plunging his family and his employees into financial jeopardy.
Isufi argues that it is a large car park, and there is space for both his business and EV chargers, which he has no issue with in principle.
He said: “I’m feeding my children with this business.
“I’m providing jobs for people in Canterbury.
“I’ve been serving the community for 12 years. “
Isufi’s wife, hairdresser Rudina Doci, went into shock when she opened the “devastating”; email from Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the company which manages forecourts on Morrisons' behalf.
She said: “He works seven days a week.
“He loves to look after his clients, and now it is being taken away from him- it’s very unfair.
“It is devastating for us. For my husband, it is his business, his job. With just 30 days of notice, what can you do to prepare?”;
The email sent to the couple by Motor Fuel Group – the firm that manages forecourts on Morrisons' behalf – said the supermarket “intends to redevelop the hand car wash site for electric charging”.
The email continued: “This therefore means that we require the site back, with vacant possession, on April 12, 2025.
The couple accepts that the 30-day termination clause is legally binding stresses he didn’t think it would be activated in “a million years.”;
They have begged Morrisons and MFG to give them six months to find a suitable alternative but claim neither company is willing to engage in further discussions.
Mr Isufi, who commutes 55 miles from his family home in Forest Hill, said: “Mr Isufi said: “It's going to be impossible for us to find a new place to operate.
“If they don't let me stay here, I'll be out of business.”;
“All I'm asking for is for Morrisons to be reasonable and allow me to continue my business in another area of the car park.”;
Morrisons said that hand car washes are not handled by the supermarket, and so any queries should be directed to Motor Fuel Group.
MFG has not yet responded to requests for comment.
