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SINGAPORE — The clock is ticking for Nicher, a bakery serving French pastries and coffee at The Brooks, a mixed-use development near Sembawang Road. The bakery's owner, Melvin Koh, 39, has decided to sell the business when his lease expires at the end ofRising rents put the squeeze on small businesses in Singapore: Should the Govt do more?
SINGAPORE — The clock is ticking for Nicher, a bakery serving French pastries and coffee at The Brooks, a mixed-use development near Sembawang Road. The bakery's owner, Melvin Koh, 39, has decided to sell the business when his lease expires at the end of June. The former pastry chef with Marina Bay Sands says his lease will go up 15 per cent from his current rental of $5,000 if he chooses to renew it, which will make running the business unsustainable. «Rent takes up at least 50 per cent of my total operating expenses,» said Koh. «Costs of ingredients and labour are also rising.» Koh, who was charged a monthly rental of $4,500 when he started his business in 2022, is just one of a number of business owners across the island who are struggling with rising rents. The rental squeeze has driven some businesses to write publicly about their woes on social media, drawing public attention to the issue. One such business is Flor Patisserie, a cake shop in Siglap Drive. Chef-owner Heidi Tan said the landlord is raising the rent by 57 per cent, from $5,400 to $8,500, and that she intends to move out by early July. Read more