'Words fail me': Independent fishmongers Sea-licious in Fareham forced to close due to 'quadrupled' electric bill, cost of living crisis and 'run of bad luck'

Owners Zoe and James Marshall, of independent business Sea-licious, announced the closure yesterday on Facebook.

Zoe said she was heart-broken and left with no other choice but to cease trade.

The co-owner of the West Street fishmongers wrote on social media: ‘Sea-licious is now permanently closed due to the small business cost of living crisis and a run of bad luck.

‘Along with the loss of all of our stock (what we called our working capital) when the freezer malfunctioned, and being flooded on numerous occasions, we can no longer sustain the business.’

Like many small businesses, Sea-licious fell foul of rocketing energy bills, brought about by the soaring price of wholesale gas.

Zoe added: ‘Our electric bill has quadrupled over the last month or two with further rises expected.’

She said the cost of rent, fuel, a 13.5 per cent rise in the wholesale cost of fish, and a lack of support from the government as a fresh food business, meant Sea-licious was no longer sustainable.

The fishmongers opened in June 2020, with the married couple wanting to bring fresh produce to Fareham – inspired by James’ family history.

James himself owns a fishing vessel.

Their orders increased dramatically at the end of that year, but now, a multitude of factors has lead to Sea-licious’ closure.

Zoe said: ‘It’s been the hardest decision to make and one that we didn’t expect to have to make.

‘An end of a short era (2 years) - we have made so many friends and met some amazing people on our journey.

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‘Sorry to customers who have made a trip to shop and found it closed, we have been looking at all options.

‘We put our heart, souls and our house into this business and if we could have avoided closing, we would.

‘As a family unit we have nothing left to give, this gives time for James to try and salvage the fishing boat business. Zoe will be job hunting .

‘Words fail me - thank you so much to everyone for making our journey and giving us so many memories.’