Business owners have reacted in horror to news Nestle will leave Croydon by the end of the year.

The Swiss Company announced it will move its head quarters from Croydon to offices outside Crawley on January 5, citing a lack of redevelopment of areas such as St George’s Walk as a major factor.

The move will see its 840 office-based employees relocating to West Sussex.

Antonio Zaidi, owner of restaurant Mamma Mia in St Georges Walk, said: “30 per cent of our customers are from Nestle.

We have built up a good relationship with them and value their custom and it is a shame to see them go.

“The council has not helped. Something has gone wrong and someone should point a figure at the council and make them get the area back up and running.

“The council says it tried to help but nothing has been coming out of it.”

Filippo Piccolinos, owner of neighbouring Piccolinos Cafe, agreed.

He said: “I already knew from some customers talking about the move. It makes a difference, not as much as other shops though.

“The council said it was going to find another building but nothing has been achieved. It has been talked about for three years. They want to regenerate but this is a big blow.

“Most of the customers have said they would have preferred to stay but they were the locals.”

It is not just food establishments concerned about a loss of lunch-time trade.

Lorraine Simpson, owner of Violet Moon, said: “I think it is going to be a great loss. Although not many are my customers, lots of people come down for lunch. It is a pity we cannot stop Nestle from going.

“The council said they bent over backwards but what have they actually done? When Nestle go there will be a knock on effect. We have already lost people from the council and the Home Office and now Nestle.”

Barry Yadave owner of St George’s Walk Dry Cleaners added: “It is going to have a big impact on all the businesses here not just us. There are already businesses closing down so this is going to be a big blow for all the traders and retailers.

“But this has been going on for a while. I have been here 12 years, through all the planning and I think Nestle would have stayed had the redevelopment gone ahead. The council makes promises but nothing gets done.”

Council Leader Mike Fisher said his authority had done all it could to keep the food and nutrition giants.

He said: “We are obviously very disappointed that Nestlé has decided to leave the borough after more than 40 years.

“We have done everything we possibly could to avoid this outcome, but ultimately we have to respect the fact that Nestle are a footloose global company and can choose where they locate their business.”