Spur Moves Ahead In UK Despite Legal Dispute

Busrep:

Spur is going ahead with its plans to open restaurants in the UK, despite being embroiled in a legal dispute with its former partner, Trinity Leisure, over who holds the master franchise to the brand in the UK and Ireland.

Group managing director Pierre van Tonder said Spur had cancelled Trinity’s rights to act as a franchisor for Spur Steak Ranches after Trinity failed to meet performance targets contained in the agreement between the 2.

But speaking from Dublin, Trinity chairman Stephen Logue said: ‘We maintain they gave us an extension to the development period and they maintain they didn’t.’

The development period is the time allotted for Trinity to roll out new steakhouses.

Despite the dispute, which is headed for court next year, Van Tonder said Spur would continue with an expansion plan that included opening 2 new restaurants, in the UK in June, as well as another 2 in Ireland.

Logue said the issue was neither ‘financial’ nor about the 5 existing restaurants, but rather about ‘the future development of the territory’.

Van Tonder said that 6 years ago, the parties had formed a joint venture, committing £1 million (R14 million at Friday’s exchange rate) each, and had opened the initial three stores. He said Trinity then bought out Spur’s share and Logue was still meeting repayments ‘religiously’.