Cloud 9 Floatation Beaconsfield closes after water leaks

Cloud 9 Floatation in Maxwell Road, Beaconsfield, officially closed its doors on Monday, February 19, following multiple water leaks from the flats above.

Tom Parker from High Wycombe and Alex Harman, both 31, took on the lease in April 2021 after looking for a suitable location to open a floatation centre, realising a gap in the market with the nearest site being in Pangbourne, Berkshire at the time.

The pair noticed 'some water damage in the ceiling' and instructed the landlord to fix it as part of the contract.

Mr Parker said: "Fast forward a couple of months when doing renovation work, we found multiple stains from previous leaks. 

"The contractor once got drenched from the plumbing upstairs. The landlord was aware of it and said he'd fix it.

"Then in 2022, we had a bad leak and we went upstairs and saw the tenant and his flat underwater and my shop."

Cloud 9 Floatation saw all walks of life through its doors, from Wycombe Wanderers athletes, busy parents and couples, looking to float inside a pod filled with half a tonne of Epsom salt and water.

Mr Parker came up with the idea after he was recommended floatation therapy when suffering from insomnia

After building up regular clients and monthly members, disaster struck on September 1 - Tom's wedding day.

He said: "It was my wedding day and I had about eight to nine missed calls from the manager next door informing me the shop was flooded.

"The ceiling collapsed, the floatation pod was destroyed, the flooring needed redoing, water in the walls. 

"We said this isn't going anywhere, the insurance claim was massive and unfortunately, throughout this ordeal, our landlord has decided to bury his head in the sand and refused take any responsibility for the poor plumbing within his building or support his tenants.

"We are now forced to go through court litigation to try and get our money back and expose the landlord for the negligence he has shown towards us and the other tenants in his building, which he has evicted."

Cloud 9 Floatation was unable to operate from September 2023 and has since lost £42,000. The floatation pod also costs £30,000 to replace.

Tom added: "When I first started out I was high as a kite. I was able to employ people that lived locally and it was a passion project.

"You meet up to 10 new people and built a rapport with monthly members and that all stopped one day.

"I think it could be something we could do again. The locals loved it and we worked with local schools, charities, athletes.

"My advice would be to have a professional assess the unit and shop, if you spot things with water damage I would get a third party to double check it and don't commit to 5 year lease."