Edward Ottewell, who owns the kiosk, seems to have found a way to keep it, and others around Britain, useful and profitable. He has bought more than 100 and rents some out for a few thousand pounds a year. One, a few streets from the one Mr Baker rents, houses a cupcake machine. Another is home to acode that offers discounts for an ebike-share scheme. Mr Ottewell also sells kiosks on Bidx1, an online platform. The one Mr Baker rents is on the market for £57,500 .
So far, so standard for the “law of rent”, according to which the person who owns a scarce resource reaps the profit when that resource is put to productive use. But nowis threatening legal action. In May it served a legal letter to Mr Ottewell’s company and charity, saying that they were not “honouring their contractual obligations” and disputing the right of either to sell the kiosks.