The freehold owner of residential and restaurant premises in Fulham has failed in his opposition to the grant of a new tenancy to the restaurant’s tenants under section 30(1)(g) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
Landlord Kyriacos Zarvos had claimed that the county court was wrong to find that he did not have a reasonable prospect of achieving his intention to establish his own restaurant business at the premises under the new name of Boby’s Restaurant and Wine Bar.
Ivan Clarke, counsel for Zarvos, argued that the judge had applied too high a standard to the question of the landlord’s intentions and the question of whether he would be able to achieve that aim.
However, dismissing the appeal, Ward LJ said that, reading the judgment as a whole, the judge had properly concentrated upon the practicalities of Zarvos’s plans in order to see whether they satisfied the test set out in section 30(1)(g).
Upholding the judge’s findings that there were limited prospects of the plans reaching fruition, he said that, to satisfy the test, “pie in the sky will not be enough”.
Zarvos v Pradham and another Court of Appeal (Ward, Clarke and Longmore LJJ) 6 February 2003.
Ivan Clarke (instructed by CP Christou) appeared for the appellant; Timothy Higginson (instructed by Mishcon de Reya) appeared for the respondents.
References: PLS News 10/3/03
