By STEPHEN RAFFERTY
A RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN by failed
bagel chain boss Larah Bross has backfired and
attracted a slew of criticism. The Bross Bagels
founder, who filed for liquidation with debts of
£1 million, has been advertising for staff to
work “in a fast paced environment with fun,
fellow bagel loving folk” with applicants told it’s
a “dream job”.
Just days before an interim liquidator was
appointed by the courts to wind up the affairs
of Bross Bagels Ltd, Larah Bross and fellow
director Marc Millar sold the company’s assets
to her newly registered business Hot Mama
Bagels Ltd for just £18,000.
Ms Bross was later forced to shutter the
prime site in St James Quarter but continues to
operate in three of the original shops under the
new entity in Portobello, Bruntsfield and
Stockbridge - still using Bross Bagels branding,
marketing collateral and social media accounts.
The Bross Bagels brand was anchored on a
strong social media following with consumers
buying in to quirky marketing featuring
self-publicist Ms Bross and celebrity endorsed
product placement, but now restrictions are in
place to limit who can post comments on its
Instagram and Facebook accounts to prevent
negative criticism.
However, when the “dream job” post
appeared on Facebook group Porty People the
advert was slated by locals in Ms Bross’s own
Portobello backyard where she first launched
the business.
Raymond Young, said: “They actually have
no shame, it’s embarrassing for them!” while
Sheila McKay added: “Won’t be buying any.”
Neil McManus asked: “Will you pay staff?”,
while Peter Baird added: “So no job security as
they have no business sense and will probably
go bankrupt again, so who actually will want to
go back to them?”.
And when Bross Bagels left comments open
on one product-promoting social media post,
an amused contributor on the Reddit
site posted a thread titled:
“Edinburgh’s favourite tax dodging
peddler forgot to turn off
comments on a post.”
On the same thread, poster
Radiant_Community
commented: “... banning
everyone who’s comment isn’t
gushing over them - even when
I asked the innocent question
‘do you pay your taxies’ I got
banned and now I can’t view
my favourite tax dodging bagels
no more ...”.The Edinburgh Reporter previously revealed
that according to the liquidators’ interim report
Bross Bagels had crashed with liabilities of
£970,000 with the largest debt of £635,000 due
to HM Revenue & Customs.
The firm’s bank Virgin Money was due
£134,000, unsecured creditors - mainly small
suppliers - were due approximately £265,000,
while “Shareholers” – almost 150 individuals
who invested £1,000 each in two rounds of
crowdfunding, were unlikely to receive a penny
of the £148,000 due to them.
The Edinburgh Reporter asked Hot Mama
Bagels if the job advert provided a sound career
opportunity given that Bross Bagels had a past
record of failing to pay wages, PAYE, National
Insurance contributions, student loan
payments, and would the new company
fulfil employer’s duties by making
appropriate tax and NI payments.
A spokesman replied: “Bross Bagels
staff have never been left unpaid.
“As we have previously
outlined, we took difficult
actions to protect jobs and
are now in a position to hire
staff. We are happy to deal
with any queries from
genuine applicants via the email
given in the advert.”77
Charity hunting for foster homes
By KIRSTY LEWINThe Our Streets Our Nights cycle ride takes
place on 1 December, when a group of
women from Edinburgh and the Lothians,
will cycle through Edinburgh for the fifth
night-time mass cycle ride. The ride will
depart from Middle Meadow Walk at
7.30pm. Campaigning for night-time cycle
infrastructure that is safe for women and
girls, their winter rides are full of joy,
music, fairy lights and laughter. But,
there’s a serious message behind the fun.
While the council is slowly developing
safe cycling infrastructure, progress is not
what it should be, and many women and
girls are afraid to cycle in Edinburgh,
particularly in the dark.
The off-road paths, while important for
leisure rides, tend to be isolated with few
escape routes and no natural surveillance.
Many women have experienced anti-
social behaviour and some have been
abused and even assaulted on these
paths. On roads, women and girls often
face aggressive close-passing drivers
along with hazardous junctions and poor
road surfaces in areas where there is no
protected cycle infrastructure.
The campaign rides shine a light on the
dilemma that women and girls face when
cycling in the city and trying to plan safe
routes for ordinary everyday trips. Sadly,
while the rides are popular and
welcoming, some women say they don’t
come along because there is no safe route
for them to get to the start of the ride.
This December, the InfraSisters are
encouraging volunteers to lead feeder
rides from around the city to support
those women who are not confident
cycling alone to get to the ride.
The InfraSisters invite all Edinburgh
councillors and MSPs to join them. The
group calls on The City of Edinburgh
Council to follow Transport Scotland’s
updated Cycling by Design guidance and:
prioritise safe and comfortable on-road
cycle infrastructure, protected from traffic
or off the road, on well-lit direct routes;
provide well-signed routes with exits, not
fenced/ walled on both sides, and with
good connections to other streets; and
provide routes which use natural
surveillance where possible, for example
streets with high footfall.The route will be posted nearer the time.
http://www.infrasisters.org.ukLarah
BrossJoin in night-time
mass cycle ride
“Theyhave no
shame!”
Troubled bagels boss promises of dream jobs for would-be recruits is ridiculed
THE SCOTTISH SPCA’s
fostering service is now
recruiting suitable foster homes
in the Edinburgh area.
Expanding the fostering
service is a key part of the
Scottish SPCA’s commitment to
increase its community
engagement activity and get
ahead of the rising animal
welfare challenges it is facing.
88% of people in Scotland have
said the cost of looking after a
pet has risen, and this increased
pr essure on the Scottish SPCA’s
capacity with calls to its animal
helpline to give up a pet on
the rise.
The charity recently
expanded its fostering and
rehoming team to increase itscapacity to foster, with the aim
of adding 400 new foster
homes to the service by the
end of next year. Scotland’s
animal welfare charity is now
appealing to animal lovers to
consider opening their hearts
and homes to an animal in
need by signing up to become
a foster carer.
Anna O’Donnell, Scottish
SPCA fostering and rehoming
lead, said, “For over a year,
we’ve been able to transform
the lives of hundreds of animals
with the support of selfless
fosterers. We now want to grow
and expand that service and
need suitable local people to
get involved.
“It is widely accepted in theanimal welfare sector that a
home environment is better for
an animal’s rehabilitation than a
kennel environment, which
many animals find stressful.
Anyone who fosters an animal
is playing a massive part in
getting that animal ready to
find a permanent home.”
“And, on top of the significant
benefits for the animal, it is a
hugely rewarding experience
for the people who foster too.
“If anyone is unsure about
fostering we’d urge them to
give it a go. You’ll be making a
huge difference to the life of an
animal and our team will be
here every step of the way to
support you.”
scottishspca.org/fostering