London restaurant group behind upmarket restaurants Veeraswamy, Chutney Mary and Amaya, and the four-strong Masala Zone business, is suing its insurance broker, James Hallam, for over £8 million in claimed uninsured COVID-19 pandemic losses.
MW Eat is suing its broker for allegedly failing to secure adequate Covid-19 pandemic cover, claiming more than £8m in uninsured losses. The High Court has allowed the professional negligence lawsuit to proceed to trial.
The insurance policy capped disease and denial-of-access coverage at £50,000 across ten London restaurants with a three-month indemnity period, leaving more than £8m in losses unrecovered.
MW Eat claimed losses of over £1m in 2019-20, £5.6m in 2020-21, and £1.3m in 2021-22.
In a Deputy Master Valentine declined to strike out the claim, giving the restaurant group 28 days to amend its particulars to specify what alternative policy limits, indemnity periods, and premiums would have been viable.
Veerswamy is also currently involved in a High Court battle with its landlord, Crown Estates, fighting evistion to allow revelopment of its Regent Street property.
Author: George Shaw
Former BBC journalist and founder and CEO of an award-winning London advertising and PR company for 20 years, providing restaurant consultancy services. Spent a decade as the director of communications of the Asian Catering Federation in the UK and lead judge for its various restaurant and chef awards programmes. Now returned to journalism, specialising in food and travel and currently the Editor-in-Chief for Taste London, Taste Asia, the Good Curry Guide and CEO of International Culinary Guides.