Gordon Ramsey has claimed that is not liable for a £640,000 annual rent bill, as a ‘ghostwriting’ machine forged his signature on the lease.
The chef, giving evidence at the High Court, said that the machine, which was used to stamp his signature on ‘signed’ cookery books, was used without his knowledge to sign him up as personal guarantor for the “extortionate” rent on an up-market London pub.
Ramsey claims that the machine was used by his father-in-law and former business partner Christopher Hutchinson, but Ramsey only discovered this after he forced Hutchinson out as chief executive in 2010.
It was used to sign the 25-year lease for the Albany & York pub near Regent’s Park in North London, which Ramsey’s company secured after a bidding war in 2008.
The pub’s owner, Gary Love, says Ramsey’s allegation was an “absurd” attempt to wriggle out of his rental commitments.
The hearing continues.
Daily Telegraph, 13
