Scarborough's Steampuss launches GoFundMe page to 'save' cat cafe

Scarborough's Steampuss is appealing for help from members of the public in order to survive.
Steampuss on Bar Street.Steampuss on Bar Street.
Steampuss on Bar Street.

The cat cafe on Bar Street, which opened for the first time in June, said it has been "struggling financially" since the end of the summer.

Matthew Davenport and Chloe Cotton, who own the business, had put out an appeal last month to ask for support.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although this generated a "huge" response, with the cafe being very busy in the days that followed, "things have quietened down again".

"One of the the main reasons we are struggling is the huge cost of our business loan," Matt explained. "We took out a loan secured against my parents house with a company that seemed to be trustworthy, however we have since discovered that most of their reviews are fake and we have been conned.

"The amount we borrowed was 40 thousand pounds and the amount that they want us to repay is 75 thousand pounds. Our monthly repayments on this loan are crippling us and we are trying to raise enough money to pay it off and also raise awareness so that other people perusing their dream don’t fall in to this trap."

The couple are asking for customers and supporters to donate anything they can, £1 or even less to keep the cafe open.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We feel uncomfortable doing this as we don’t like asking for money in this way but the way things are now we are not sure we can survive until summer and if we lose the cafe we lose everything."

You can visit their GoFundMe page HERE.

Related topics: