- Gordon Ramsay’s hotel restaurant York & Albany in London has been taken over by squatters.
- The occupiers have turned it into a community space, but eviction proceedings appear to have begun.
- Under UK law, illegal occupation of commercial property is a civil matter, resulting in costly legal proceedings.
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Gordon Ramsay is having a nightmare in the kitchen.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police became aware that a group of squatters had taken over the York and Albany Hotel and Restaurant in London’s expensive borough of Camden.
It is unclear when they moved into the facility, which was temporarily closed until the celebrity chef signed a new lease, according to the report.
However, the group clearly dominated the ball by the weekend and made it clear they had no intention of leaving.
The organization changed the name of the site to “Camden Art Cafe” and posted a notice on the building citing legal provisions that would make it impossible “at least for the time being” to evict anyone, including Ramsey. I pasted it.
A legal notice is posted outside Gordon Ramsay’s York & Albany restaurant and hotel in Camden, London, on April 15, 2024, indicating it is occupied by squatters.
Grace Dean/Business Insider
In 2012, the UK made illegal occupation a criminal offense as long as it takes place in residential areas.
However, in commercial land, illegal occupation remains a civil matter. This means that police cannot simply remove squatters from places like York & Albany, and indeed any attempt to do so without any other reason is itself a violation of the law.
The Metropolitan Police Department earlier told BI that the matter was “a civil matter and therefore police did not attend as an emergency response.” He also said, “We are currently checking to see if there have been any subsequent violations.”
Evicting commercial squatters is no easy feat, requiring complex procedures and typically costing thousands of dollars in legal fees, legal experts told BI.
“This is not an ideal situation, it seems to go without saying,” said lawyer Niall Helferty of Kuits Solicitors.
The property owner must take the matter to court and apply for a possession order. Helferty said courts tend to prioritize such matters, but London’s often clogged court system has multiple hoops to jump through.
Asked what the squatters could do to fight back, Andrew Whitehead, a partner at Stevensons Solicitors, said: “They have no lease and have effectively trespassed and refused to leave. If so, it would appear that there are no rights,” he told BI. The very fact that they are on the premises. ”
Still, getting rid of them isn’t cheap.
Both attorneys roughly estimated Mr. Ramsey’s potential legal costs at between $6,000 and $12,000, depending on the amount charged by Mr. Ramsey’s legal team.
In addition to direct legal costs, commercial squatting also poses other concerns for property owners, such as loss of income.
York & Albany was not open, but after a legal battle between Ramsay and the building’s freeholder, it is now on the market for a reported $16 million. Therefore, Mr. Ramsay faces no loss of business in the field.
But property owners and business owners like Ramsey will wonder, “What kind of damage is being done internally?” Helferty said.
Representatives for Mr. Ramsey did not respond to BI’s request for comment.
Squatter with a message
Gordon Ramsay isn’t known for his calm and patient side. He has built an empire in part through his brash demeanor.
Even so, it never feels good to be the center of an anti-gentrification movement.
in an interview independent paper andthe squatters all assumed the pseudonym “Gordon”, but their anger seems to be directed more broadly at London’s wealth inequality than at Ramsay himself.
The district where the restaurant is located, According to the group’s statementhas “one of the largest disparities between rich and poor in London”. Camden Council Report 2015 It said a quarter of residents live on less than $25,000, while the average home price is about $780,000.
The squatter group did not respond to multiple interview requests, but when BI’s Grace Dean visited on Monday, she found a quiet humming space where people were painting and chatting about the local community.
According to The Independent, members of the group were whipping up pasta and lattes when reporters visited, and were strictly observing cleaning duties.
Neighbors told the paper the group was “not very loud” and some expressed support for their cause.
On Tuesday, the squatters updated their Instagram accounts to say that legal documents had been delivered and the cafe’s operations had been put on hold.
It is unclear exactly what stage the legal process has reached. But Helferty said a court hearing is likely currently scheduled and time could be running out.
Regardless of how long they were able to stay, the group attracted a lot of attention, which probably annoyed Ramsey more than a little.