FURIOUS restaurant staff have been left in limbo after turning up for work at a city centre gin bar only to find the doors locked and an eviction notice on display.
Bar and kitchen staff at Gin & Olive in Southampton who turned up for their shift were met with a notice saying the landlord had re-entered the premises.
Solicitors for the landlord said this is due to Gin & Olive failing to pay rent and service charges totalling nearly six figures.
Anthony Ferreira from Gin & Olive told the Echo it has shut as a result of a dispute over the building's cladding.
The restaurant on Above Bar Street is led by Gin and Olive Bars and Restaurants Southampton Limited company director Ruth Wallis and her partner Mr Ferreira.
'We want an explanation'
Head chef Gareth Elliott told the Daily Echo there was “no warning” about the closure on November 10.
The 44-year-old said: “The landlord changed the locks so no one can get in.
“We’ve had no correspondence with the manager whatsoever, and we will not be receiving over a week’s worth of pay.
“Everyone has lost their job and there was no warning. This was sprung upon us.
“I’ve got a family, four daughters, and a mortgage to pay. It’s very difficult for us and we want answers.”
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Around 30 members of staff now cannot work, which means no weekly income.
For student Freya Chasdon, 19, this will affect her university work.
The bartender said: “A lot of us do creative courses at university so we can’t fund our assignments.
“And this is just before Christmas as well, and we need to pay for transport home.
“One of the main things we want is an explanation.”
This was echoed by fellow student and waitress Louise Walker.
The 21-year-old said: “Anthony has given us no information, no answers, and he hasn’t paid us.
“I have no money – I am in my overdraft. I am angry because we have no answers and Anthony has thrown us under the bus.”
'Significant amount of arrears'
Real estate lawyers Maples Teesdale were instructed to forfeit the lease and secure the premises on behalf of the landlord, Harborne Holdings Limited.
This was not a decision the landlord has “taken lightly,” a statement said.
A spokesperson from Harborne Holdings said: “We have huge sympathy for all staff members of Gin & Olive who have been affected.
“Gin & Olive has failed to pay any rent or service charge since February 2021 accumulating a significant amount of arrears close to six figures.
“We have worked with all our tenants across the country to provide support through the pandemic and this is the only time we have been required to forfeit a lease.
“Should Gin & Olive settle the arrears and pay the landlord’s costs in full it is able to make an application for relief from forfeiture, and the landlord would be willing to reach an agreement to allow them to resume trading from the premises.”
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'Doors will remain closed'
However, Mr Ferreira said he is in dispute with the landlord and council over the building's cladding.
He said: “Gin & Olive Southampton has temporarily closed as the company is currently in dispute with the landlord of The Arts Complex in Above Bar Street and Southampton City Council as the superior landlord.
“Gin & Olive has been made aware that the building is unsafe due to a cladding issue.
“And it failed its EWS1 report which all buildings over 18m require following the Grenfell fire.
“Until the dispute can be resolved the doors will remain closed.”
But Maples Teesdale said this information is “simply incorrect” and “the landlord forfeited the lease because the tenant had rent significant arrears.”
Southampton City Council is the freeholder of the land but has no liability for the development under the terms of a long-ground lease to Harborne Holdings, it said.
Gin & Olive secured a premises licence in July 2021 following Mr Ferreira's release from prison.
He had been jailed for more than seven years in 2016 for two frauds and two charges of perverting the course of justice unrelated to the business.
It opened earlier this year with permission to open until 1am after bosses calmed residents' concerns over possible noise.
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