Yahoo News Gordon Ramsay's £13m London pub 'taken over by squatters' who put up 'legal warning'
Gordon Ramsay's swanky £13 million London pub has been overrun by squatters. The York & Albany, a posh hotel and gastropub near Regent's Park, currently on the market, has become the temporary home to at least half a dozen uninvited guests.
The group has barricaded themselves inside the Grade II-listed building, boarding up windows and slapping a "legal warning" notice across the entrance, as reported by The Sun.
Before the windows were completely sealed off, snaps showed one of the squatters catching some z's on a couch in the bar area, amidst a sea of rubbish.
On Saturday morning, a pair of squatters decked out in black tracksuits, faces covered and laden with backpacks and shopping bags, made a dash from the property, avoiding any interaction with the press.
A taped-up notice on the door boldly claims their right to stay put, arguing that the venue isn't a "residential building" and is thus protected under the 2012 law against squatting in residential spaces.
Signed by "The Occupiers", the note warns: "Take notice that we occupy this property and at all times there is at least one person in occupation."
It continues to claim that any forced entry without their consent is a criminal act, as they stand firmly against such intrusion without permission.
The notice concludes with a stern reminder: "That if you attempt to enter by violence or by threatening violence we will prosecute you.
"You may receive a sentence of up to six months' imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
"That if you want to get us out you will have to issue a claim for possession in the County Court or in the High Court."
Mr Ramsay contacted the police on Wednesday but was unable to evict the squatters, it is understood.
Another notice appealed to passers-by for "food and clothes donations or anything else you no longer want or need."
In the UK, occupying someone's non-residential property without their consent isn't a crime in itself, however, the police can intervene if subsequent crimes are committed, such as damaging the property or theft.
The Metropolitan Police stated: "Police were made aware of squatters at a disused property in Parkway, Regent's Park, NW1 on Wednesday, 10 April."
"This is a civil matter and so police did not attend the property."
Back in 2007, film director Gary Love purchased the freehold of the former nineteenth-century coaching inn.
He later leased the property to Mr Ramsay for a 25-year term with an annual rent of £640,000.
The host of Kitchen Nightmares unsuccessfully tried to extricate himself from the lease in a legal dispute at the High Court in 2015.
The venue was put up for sale at the end of last year with a guide price of £13 million.
Government guidelines state that squatters can apply to become the registered owners of a property if they have lived in it continuously for 10 years, acted as owners throughout that period, and had not been given permission to live there by the owner.
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