London: Veeraswamy, one of the world’s oldest Indian restaurants, has appealed the Indian government to intervene against its forced removal from its iconic London location, which once welcomed Mahatma Gandhi.
The Michelin-starred diner, which recently celebrated 100 years since it first opened its doors at Victory House on Regent Street in March 1926, is set for a legal battle over its lease at the end of the month.
Building landlord, the Crown Estate, has maintained that comprehensive refurbishment requirements mean it is unable to renew the historic restaurant’s lease.
Even at this late stage, we would urge the government of India to consider intervening on behalf of Indian cuisine – the country’s soft power in the UK, said Ranjit Mathrani of MW Eat, the group that owns Veeraswamy.
He pointed out that given the strength of the India-UK bilateral relationship and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) approaching implementation, it would be disappointing to see a slice of Indian history disappearing from the very heart of London.
Veeraswamy is, after all, a shining example of culinary expertise exported out of India, said Mathrani.
The latest appeal this week follows an over 20,000-strong online petition urging King Charles III to Save Veeraswamy, taken to Buckingham Palace by the staff and management of the restaurant in February.
While Victory House is part of the British monarch’s property portfolio, the Crown Estate is charged with its management and generating profits for the UK Treasury.
Our guests have included Her Late Majesty the Queen (Elizabeth II), the Princess Royal (Princess Anne), and other overseas royals… heritage cannot be relocated, nor can history be replaced, said Mathrani, who co-owns the restaurant with wife Namita and her sister, Camillia Panjabi.
MW Eat claims to have submitted several workable alternatives to the Crown Estate (TCE) to keep the restaurant on site, including acting as project managers for the building’s necessary refurbishment works and matching the rent expected from converting the building into office units.
The company also challenges the financial arguments made by TCE, as the dispute is costing the British taxpayer millions of pounds in lost rent and legal fees.
A five-day hearing of MW Eat’s case over its tenancy rights is scheduled at Central London County Court from June 29.
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TCE said it had not taken the decision over the lease renewal lightly and the building’s Grade II heritage status made its refurbishment choices more complex and limited.
We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards and into full use, said a spokesperson on behalf of the Crown Estate.
We understand how disappointing this is for MW Eat and have offered help to find new premises on our portfolio so that the restaurant can stay in the West End as well as financial compensation.
The Crown Estate has a statutory responsibility to manage its land and property to create long-term value for the UK and return its profit to the UK government for public spending, the spokesperson said.
TCE also claimed to have reviewed alternative proposals, including those put forward by MW Eat, but stated that there was no alternate scheme which meets our responsibilities as stewards of this heritage-listed building, our legal obligations and our responsibilities to manage public money.
