The owners of a Swindon town centre restaurant have revealed they were forced to close after being faced with multiple challenges beyond their control and racking up thousands of pounds of debt. 

Heidi and Jon Flitcroft, former owners of The Octagon, have managed the restaurant since 2018, and it has been a prominent part of the town centre for 40 years.

Swindon Borough Council informed the pair last year they would need to leave the building ahead of it being demolished as part of the Fleming Way improvement scheme.

But the day before the closure, the council offered them a “lifeline” and said the Flitcrofts could keep trading, gave them a year-long lease and said they would not need to pay rent.

The couple faced an uncertain future as they did not know when the New Bridge Close building would be torn down for the development but despite these challenges, and financial pressures during the COVID pandemic, they were eagerly awaiting a busy summer period and were also considering relocating.

Jon said: “Unfortunately myself and my wife had to make the tough decision to close The Octagon due to situations since COVID and the lack of business over the last couple of years that has just got worse and worse. We have got into too much debt to keep it going.

“The council gave us the break in rent until the building was due to get demolished as part of the Fleming Way project and unfortunately we are in around £80,000 of debt, so we can't carry on.

“We had a great amount of regulars who came in daily. They were upset, we were upset, but we had no choice.”

Jon and Heidi Flitcroft at The Octagon restaurant Jon and Heidi Flitcroft at The Octagon restaurant (Image: Dave Cox) Enjoy a better reading experience with the Adver
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Heidi told the Adver in April: “We are here until they pull it down, we had a year guarantee put onto the lease and it’s a day-by-day, week-by-week thing. Obviously, they don’t know when the work will be done and when the bus station will be pulled down, so it’s a matter of when they know anything, we will know.”

Then the council informed them the restaurant would be demolished at some point next year, leaving them with more time than they had anticipated, but increasing debt forced them to close earlier this year.

The Octagon restaurant has since been listed as permanently closed on Google and Heidi and Jon say they are devastated.