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Canvas Coffee, Cascades, Portsmouth (2026)

20/01/2026

Hi

Many of you will have seen how vocal I've been in recent years about the economy and business rates.

I don't have a shop so I'm a little out of the loop since the recent budget but lately I keep seeing business rates talked about in the news and on social media so I thought I'd take a look at the government website and try and make sense of it all and understand how some businesses might be affected beyond April.

I am sharing this screenshot because it shocked me.

It's an example explaining to businesses how to calculate rate changes.

What blew my mind is that the Govt think it's okay to use an example where a rateable value goes up 120% within 12 months.

£50,000 to £110,000. That's a 120% increase.

The way shops are taxed in reality is a bit more complicated but here's what really gets me:

Imagine being a business owner and taking on a lease of a shop. You've committed to a contract, you've invested your money, you've made your plans based on certain costs.

Then the govt changes your rateable value - something you have ZERO control over. You can't negotiate it. You can't appeal it just because you can't afford it. You're completely powerless.

In this example, even with the "relief" Barbara's bill goes from £14,970 to £19,461. That's nearly £4,500 more. And that relief is just temporary - eventually she pays the full amount based on that £110,000 valuation.

If you were thinking of opening a business knowing this could happen to you, what would you be thinking?

Like me you'd be thinking it's probably not a good time to open a business right?

It blows my mind that somebody or a group of people in govt would think this is a good example to show people. It tells you everything about what they think is acceptable.

You make a business decision, you sign a lease, you invest everything - and then one of your biggest fixed costs can jump and there's nothing you can do about it.

What do you think?

I hope this is helpful.

29/11/2025

Hello everyone 🙋🏾‍♂️

I missed the train to London today. I got a refund on my ticket and chatted to the lady at the ticket office who recognised me.

Many of you know I've posted a lot here over the last year about how this part of the railway has been nationalised and is now owned by the taxpayer.
It remains vacant. The barber shop is vacant too. And the rateable value of the units has jumped significantly while they sit empty.

I am lucky in my job I get to talk to lots of business owners who keep telling me to push my MP on this.
If you have read the posts over recent months you may know I put a comprehensive proposal to my local MP earlier in the year. This has for the large part been ignored and my experience has been that my MP has been passive.

I am reasonably confident in 6 months time this unit will look exactly the same. We all as taxpayers own it now but can't seem to do anything about getting it occupied with the sorts of businesses we want where we live.
In the meantime my MP is busy trying to get the old Knight and Lee building moving — which is privately owned.

The second picture here is a picture of our MP being interviewed by the BBC at 7am in the morning
Back then we employed 11 local people

We could create some jobs next week if we really wanted to

Regardless of your political leaning I think we would all agree having shops like these occupied by local businesses would be good for the economy

If you have suggestions I would love to hear them.

Have a great weekend x

24/10/2025

Yesterday I was in London and in the evening got to go to a coffee tasting at Kaffeine and also caught up with Peter (pictured here) who owns Kaffeine.

His business was one that inspired me a lot.

It was actually a video I watched which we used to get everybody at Canvas Coffee to watch as part of the onboarding training.
It made me realise if you run a great business you can use the profits, in our case, to have impact.

Twice we took the team at Canvas to London to do some hospitality training with him.

And Peter even came down to Portsmouth and spent the day with us helping us with workflow.

We were particularly interested in how (because we were in a train station) we could serve customers quickly but keep the quality to the highest level.

I think Peter is a bit of a legend
How he runs his business beind the scenes is levels above anybody I've seen in coffee.
I've seen it any times with my own eyes.

Even how he kicked off the cupping yesterday was an example of this and how hospitable he is.

If you're in Central London go and check out his shops.

If you want to watch this video I mentioned it's on the Canvas Coffee Blog
https://www.canvascoffee.co.uk/blog/2019/8/17/are-you-hiring

It was actually a test we used in interviews to see whether applicants read the website.
Small things like this helped us keep staff turnover very low.

One of the things I learnt from him is you always want to be striving to be the best in your area.

But never think you are - because that will only make you complacent.

21/10/2025

Here are some snaps of something cool I got to do last night😃

I went along to Re-Fit, a Portsmouth project that gets people in early recovery doing exercise. They run sessions from badminton and boxing to cycling and football - all aimed at helping people improve their physical and mental health whilst building connections.

We initially heard about Re-Fit because Jim and Paul were OG customers at Canvas and we would see them all the time because the badminton sessions they run take place at Charter Academy 🏸 (next door to the station)

Something I think is quite cool about what they do is they don't turn people away who haven't stopped drinking or using yet.

A little while ago they asked if we could help sponsor getting some t-shirts made for their volunteers as the previous ones had died. Thanks to some of the work we've been able to do with corporate clients this past year, we were able to say yes, and this evening I got to go along to their badminton session and deliver them.

If you want to learn more about Re-Fit or see their full timetable of activities, check out the Society of St James Academy: https://ssj.org.uk

Fun fact: Jim and Paul were actually the "friends" in our "First Batch and Friends" coffee—they were among the first to buy my test batches when started roasting coffee and thats how we've stayed in touch all these years.

You can learn more about first batch and friends here
https://sundaycoffee.co.uk/coffees/first-batch-and-friends

20/10/2025

Here are some snaps of something cool I got to do this evening 😃

I went along to Re-Fit, a Portsmouth project that gets people in early recovery doing exercise. They run everything from badminton and boxing to cycling and football - all aimed at helping people improve their physical and mental health whilst building connections.

We initially heard about Re-Fit because Jim and Paul were OG customers at Canvas and we would see them all the time because the badminton sessions they run take place at Charter Academy 🏸

A little while ago they asked if we could help sponsor getting some t-shirts made for their volunteers as the previous ones had died. Thanks to some of the work we've been able to do with corporate clients this past year, we were able to say yes, and this evening I got to go along to their badminton session and deliver them.

If you want to learn more about Re-Fit or see their full timetable of activities, check out the Society of St James Academy: https://ssj.org.uk

---

Fun fact: Jim and Paul were actually the "friends" in our "First Batch and Friends" coffee—they were among the first to buy my test batches when I started roasting coffee in the station. That's how we've stayed in touch all these years, and it's been special to keep this connection and to continue to see the amazing work they do with Re-Fit and get behind it.

27/08/2025

Over recent months I’ve had a fair number of conversations with different people about the price of a coffee in cafes.
A number of people I spoke to felt £4 was a lot for a Latte.

I have been thinking about this a lot
and thought it would be interesting to do a thought experiment
and work out
what it would cost
for us to make a Latte today in 2025 vs what it cost us to make a one back in 2020

Here are some headlines I thought were interesting:

After Labour Costs, Taxes, Ingredients, Rent and Card Charges
In 2025 we would be left with 32p on a £4 Latte
This compares with 62p on a £3.00 Latte (which is what we were charging in 2020!)

Something that interested me is that taxes on a coffee in 2020 made up 27.5% of the cup (83p) but in 2025 taxes would make up 36.4% of the cup (£1.46) on a £4 Latte.

Despite knowing National Insurance and Business Rates went up this year - this still surprised me a little (this means taxes make up over 1/3 of a cost of a coffee).

The model used for these calculations have been based on hypothetical scenario of
A barista working alone for 8 hours serving 100 coffees in a day which works out at 12.5 drinks an hour.

The hourly rate used is an average of the UK Minimum Wage and the Real Living Wage (set by the Living Wage Foundation) relating to both 2020 and 2025.

The profit or margin here doesn’t include costs such as accountant, cost of an EPOS and many other overheads involved in running a café.

06/08/2025

Hello everyone 🙋🏾‍♂️

I want to update you all since last week - here’s a copy of the letter our local MP Stephen Morgan sent to the new head of South Western Railway.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to send this - I asked twice but didn’t get confirmation, but figured there’s nothing confidential in it.

This is positive news. Whilst it seems positive, this is multifaceted - it’s really another step on a long journey towards addressing the issues around the station.

Your support and interest is appreciated. Please like and share if you feel pulled to.

Will update again once I’ve heard more.

29/07/2025

UPDATE

Hello
On the 14th July I posted on our social media a letter I sent to our local MP Stephen Morgan with suggestions on sustainable ways to address issues surrounding the demise of Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station - the issues are multifaceted and complex

I published everything on the Canvas Coffee website you can read it all there on the blog.

Many of you have asked for updates so here is the latest update.

Stephen was planned to meet the new head of SWR later this month
This has been delayed until next month
I have been in communication with his office and expressed concern at the delay and suggested actions are taken sooner because 5 years has passed.

His office have been responsive and responded with the attached last week.

I personally feel this is a positive outcome and can't really ask for more from our MP at this stage.
I have highlighted to his office that the proposal we are putting forward would stimulate economic activity in a cost neutral way which is a no brainer considering the economy is shrinking and the assets are tax payer owned now.

Many of you have written to our MP thank you!

I am not political but it seems to me that writing to your MP re. Issues that are important to you works and I have no doubt this is finally addressed because of the emails they've received surrounding the station.

If you want to email your MP and don't know how to you are welcome to contact me using the contact form on the website and I will try and help.

I am busy hustling myself trying to earn a living and do my job so sorry if this update is slow.

I travelled to London today and got the train

This second picture is the empty shop which we occupied for 5 years between 2014-2020 employing 11 people the day we closed
The shop adjacent which used to be a barbers is also empty.

I will post more updates as I have them 🙋🏾‍♂️

Your interest and support is appreciated

14/07/2025

🚂 FINAL UPDATE: Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station

As many of you know I have been quite vocal on social media in recent months around Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station

This morning I sent our MP a letter ahead of a meeting he’s having with the new head of South Western Railway which has been nationalised in recent months.

I have attached the full letter on the Canvas Coffee website for complete transparency. The second half gives the full background of what happened at Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station and why we had to leave.

I’m publishing this because I want to be completely transparent about everything. I’ve done all I can to put forward what I believe is a sensible, zero-risk solution that benefits Portsmouth and the Tax Payer

If you feel as passionately as I do about getting our station working for our community again, I encourage you to write to Stephen Morgan ahead of his upcoming meeting with the new head of South Western Railway.

I am utterly exhausted so that’s it from me

Pravin

📝 Full letter: https://www.canvascoffee.co.uk/blog
🔗 Link in bio

📷 this pic is was taken in 2019 when the BBC were in the shop at 7am interviewing

11/07/2025

Hello everyone 🙋🏾‍♂️
A lot of people have asked for updates following my posts about our old shop and Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station generally.

I’ve had a lot of conversations especially in the last week, so here's an update...

Last month I spent an hour with Cllr Cal Corkery (Independent Councillor for Charles Dickens Ward). I followed up with some data and await a response – I will update when there’s more.

Also contacted the council leader (tried this in 2023 too). They were apathetic and uninterested, suggested speaking to Stephen Morgan's office.

I also had a long conversation with Stephen Morgan's chief of staff. Stephen Morgan is expecting to meet the new head of South Western Railway (which is now tax payer owned).

Lots of people ask me if we would reopen Canvas Coffee in the train station. And to be completely honest that's a bit like asking somebody if they want to go back to a dysfunctional relationship.

I find myself in a very torn situation where, as a result of the COVID pandemic, we are sitting on assets, and I feel a moral responsibility to make sure these assets are put to use in a sustainable and impactful way.

I suggested to Stephen Morgan's chief of staff that we potentially put forward a proposal of opening in the train station as a pop-up on a temporary basis to stimulate economic growth and facilitate conversation. This is effectively what I plan on doing.

Given today's news about the economy shrinking, I feel this is best - costs nobody anything but creates jobs and enables discussions.

A week ago, I saw Gary's Economics in London with my mate Max who founded Dusty Knuckle Bakery they are a social enterprise who are smashing it.

If you haven't heard of Gary's Economics, check him out. He campaigns around wealth inequality and talks about the pandemic money distribution.

His content is relevant because the station area is one of the most deprived in the city/country and what’s happened around the station is a symptom of what he talks about.

This affects everyone - we're all collectively paying for it (whether you live in Portsmouth or not) and I don't think we need to.

The system is broken and needs fixing.

02/06/2025

Some of you might’ve seen in the news last week that South Western Railway has been nationalised.

SWR used to run the line to London and was our landlord when we occupied the shop at the station. We couldn’t come to an agreement on the lease, so we left in 2020 — and the shop has now remained empty for five years.

That’s essentially 11 jobs lost over that time, and no refreshment offering in one of Portsmouth’s main stations.

The nationalisation means that we — the taxpayer — are now the landlord of this shop (and the other vacant units at Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour, where we did a pop-up some years ago).

Ironically, now that we’re the landlord, we’re also responsible for the business rates on these empty shops.
So as taxpayers, we’re literally paying for these spaces to sit vacant.

This blows my mind.

The shop stayed empty for five years under private ownership. Now it’s in public hands, it’s still empty — but now costing us money.

I met with our MP a few weeks ago and flagged all of this. A caseworker is now looking into it.
I believe the issues are multi faceted though

It’s also about:

Fair business rates — as I mentioned in a previous post, the rate for this shop has jumped from £26,500 to £63,000 while it’s been vacant

What it means to be a responsible landlord — and how we set rents that are actually sustainable. (We are the landlord now)

Investing in assets like our local railway stations and making them welcoming to visitors to our city.

Over the past five years I’ve kept trying to raise this. Sadly, I’ve found the council pretty apathetic — even though the station is literally next door to their offices. I’ve tried multiple times to get them engaged, but no luck.

Now that the line is nationalised and our MP has a caseworker involved, I really hope something will change. These are public assets — and they could be creating jobs that have impact and generating income, and supporting the local economy.

Bit nervous posting this
But who else is going to speak up x

07/04/2025

Hello everyone 🙋🏾‍♂️

A week ago I posted a thought experiment to see what it would have cost Canvas Coffee to move into financial year 2025/26. 📊

I calculated that we would have had to find an extra £25,479.18 this year alone just to stay open (these costs are wages and NI increases and business rates only). 💸

The post got a lot of attention.

Today is the first working day of the new financial year 2025/26 and I decided to do another thought experiment and calculate how many coffees a cafe would need to sell to cover this £25,479.18 ☕

The answer?

An extra 9,121 cups of coffee this year
just to cover that £25,479.18 😳

762 coffees a month, 📅
176 coffees a week, 📆
30 coffees every single day! ☕

I got to this number because I worked out that if we were open today we’d likely be selling a Latte and Cap at £4.50, a Flat White at £4.30 and an Americano/Long Black at £4 – making the average price of a coffee £4.26 🧮

A busy café serving 300 cups a day before, would need to increase the customer base by 10% overnight. 📈

Selling an extra 30 coffees daily might not sound like much, but I can assure you that it’s actually incredibly difficult. 😰
Especially during a cost of living crisis where many people are cutting back. 💰

Missing this target for even one day would feel a bit like falling into debt – the goal of 30 coffees would compound so when you fall behind, it gets harder and harder to catch up. ⏱️

This is exactly the challenge many café owners will be feeling this week going into this financial year. 🏪

And most will be forced to make some really painful decisions. 😔

We’ll start to see hours cut, people lose jobs, and prices going up… though many owners are terrified to do this through fear that existing customers will walk away. 🚶‍♀️

Some of you will remember we used to put a blackboard quote on the board every day.
One of my favourite quotes was:

“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” ―Anna Lappe 🗣️

As we enter this new financial year, please keep this in mind when you decide where to buy your coffee.
Your choice matters more than you might think. 💛

Canvas Coffee

20/01/2026

29/11/2025

24/10/2025

21/10/2025

20/10/2025

27/08/2025

06/08/2025

29/07/2025

14/07/2025

11/07/2025

02/06/2025

07/04/2025

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Tuesday	6am - 6pm
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