Gaucho chief calls Legal & General behaviour ‘unethical’
Gaucho chief has criticised Legal & General for being an “unethical” landlord following a recent clash over a rented commercial site in Liverpool.
Martin Williams, chief executive of Gaucho’s owner M Restaurants, told the Telegraph: “We’ve seen the worst and the best of landlords during the pandemic.”
“We had a situation in Liverpool where we had agreed heads of terms and started a planning application, and both the landlord, which was Legal & General at the time, and the agent, were still marketing the restaurant, which is very unethical in our world.”
In this particular incident, Legal & General accepted a higher offer from a competitor and paid M Restaurants’ costs, meaning that Williams was forced to find a new location.
Williams’ comments represent the rising tension between commercial landlords and tenants as industry begins to recover from the pandemic.
The steak house boss also said his firm had identified 29 extra sites to open in the next five years, looking to double in size as punters flock back to restaurants and bars.