PHOTO: Fortune Favours
💥 National Coalition Has No Clue:
By Property Noise NZ | Updated 28 August 2025
🚨 Businesses Closing at Record Pace
New Zealand’s economy is in crisis – and the National Coalition Government appears completely out of its depth. Businesses across the country are shutting their doors, families are being stretched to breaking point, and there seems to be no clear plan from Wellington to fix it.
The latest casualty is Fortune Favours, a hugely popular Wellington brew bar, which has announced it will close permanently this Sunday after eight years in business. The closure, announced on social media, blamed the cost-of-living crisis that has devastated small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.
The Most Comprehensive NZ Real Estate Agent Database Ever Compiled | Order Now
📉 A Brutal Downturn
Owner Shannon Thorpe revealed just how dire things had become:
- 📊 Sales down 20% on last year
- 📉 That was already 25% down on the year before
- ❌ “This is not sustainable.”
Despite critical acclaim – including praise for its beer at Wellington’s recent Beervana festival – the business simply could not survive the relentless economic squeeze.
Join Forces with New Zealand’s Premier Independent Real Estate News Aggregation Platform
🏠 Families Under Pressure
While businesses fold, ordinary families are being destroyed financially:
- 🛒 Groceries and essentials cost more every week
- 💡 Power bills and rents keep climbing
- 💳 Household debt is soaring
Everyday Kiwis are being forced to cut back on basics while the government insists its economic strategy is working. But if things are improving, why are so many businesses closing at record rates?
⚠️ Government Paralysis
Critics argue the National Coalition has no real plan to steer New Zealand out of its downturn. Instead, families and small businesses are left to fend for themselves while:
- 🏦 Interest rates remain punishing
- 📈 Inflation erodes pay packets
- 💼 Business closures accelerate
The gap between government spin and economic reality is growing wider by the day.
🍺 Fortune Favours No More
In their farewell, Thorpe and head brewer Dale Cooper thanked loyal customers, the community, and staff, inviting patrons to celebrate the bar’s final weekend. But behind the gratitude lies a sobering truth: another much-loved local business has fallen victim to economic mismanagement.
🔮 The Bigger Picture
Fortune Favours is not alone. From hospitality to retail, business owners across New Zealand are echoing the same refrain: “We can’t make it work anymore.” The cost-of-living crisis, compounded by weak government leadership, is crushing entrepreneurship and putting livelihoods on the line.
Unless urgent, targeted measures are taken, New Zealand risks losing more of its small business backbone – the very enterprises that power communities and provide jobs