For years the Wincobank trainer has popped to Pollards on Market Street, Meadowhall, for an early morning brew with wife Alma.

Now, the café and neighbouring businesses – refitted at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds after last year's floods – have had leases terminated or not renewed by the shopping centre.

Meadowhall bosses are believed to be planning to knock together and extend the units to create a single, bigger store.

Up to 12 Pollards staff are facing redundancy.

Brendan, a member of the Sheffield Legends Hall of Fame who has trained boxing world champions, said: "My wife and I have been going there for years, up to six or seven times a week, and we're very upset. The staff are brilliant and make you so welcome.

"Meadowhall is a fantastic place and I know you can't stop progress but so many people are upset about what is happening. Everything just seems to be money, money, money these days."

Another angry shopper, a regular at Pollards and Crawshaw's Butchers which is also closing, said: "I am horrified and disgusted that Meadowhall is enforcing unwanted closure on a complete row of shops."

Other businesses affected include Massarella's coffee shop, which has already shut, and eateries Greggs and Burger Knight.

Pollards managing director Simon Bower, whose branch closes at the end of June, said: "Meadowhall has exercised a break clause in our 25-year lease, which still had 10 years to run.

"We spent tens of thousands from our own budget, on top of the insurance money, in improvements to the coffee shop after the flood, and were not looking to close. I'm unhappy with the situation but it's one of the risks of doing business.

"We are in consultation with regard to redundancies and are looking to find other opportunities within our business. What's particularly upsetting is we employ three people with learning difficulties, and I am worried about their potential to find other jobs."

Crawshaw's Butchers, which has traded at Meadowhall since the centre opened in 1990, hopes to accommodate its eight staff at stores opening elsewhere in South Yorkshire.

Colin Crawshaw, director of the Rotherham-based firm, said: "We have been doing well at Meadowhall but our lease runs out at the beginning of July and they haven't offered us a new one. We are not going to be making redundancies."

The company, which has 14 stores in Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, hopes to open a replacement branch somewhere in Sheffield.

A Meadowhall spokeswoman was unable to give details about the reason for the redevelopment but said: "We have processes in place to support stores that may close, and work hard to offer alternative employment wherever possible. We're committed to finding jobs for people who wish to remain at Meadowhall."

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