Westlife gig sparks £1m legal battle with Harewood caterers

HAREWOOD House is renowned as one of the treasure houses of England and home to the Queen's cousin. But despite its genteel connections it is now the subject of a lawsuit that could ultimately total almost £1m.

For while the it hosted lavish events involving pop superstars and a host of entertainments for guests, behind the scenes a row over money erupted between Harewood and a firm of outside caterers.

Matters came to a head after a particularly grand birthday celebration and were so acrimonious they have now ended up being aired in court.

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Leeds County Court heard yesterday how matters between respondents Dine Catering Ltd and claimants Harewood House Trading Ltd – the commercial arm of Harewood House Trust – became acrimonious following a complaint about an event.

The arrangement between the parties was that Harewood would receive a 15 per cent commission on food and drink sales at Vistas Marquee erected in its grounds.

But Neil Berragan, representing Harewood, said that in April 2008 problems arose following a birthday celebration party held for Suzannah Allard – "quite a grand affair" – for which her husband had flown in the band Westlife.

He told the hearing Lucy Attwood, the party's organiser made a complaint about Dine, writing to Harewood to praise them while denigrating the catering firm and providing a copy of the invoice sent to her.

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Harewood was already unhappy at Dine's claim it could not be given copies of invoices for "data-protection" reasons and concerns were raised that the amount of income being generated by the events was being under-accounted. It was the first time an invoice had been seen since the start of the 2007 season.

Mr Berragan said a new chief executive of the trust, Richard Mansell, had been appointed in February that year "in the midst of an attempt by Harewood to terminate the agreement.

"He took the view that he should try to repair the relationship but he was obviously concerned when he saw the invoice. Firstly there was a charge of 36.50 for a set menu that had been reduced to 18, but what struck Mr Mansell was that Mrs Attwood had been charged china and glassware stuff, an extra wine butler, linen and mobile kitchen unit."

Mr Berragan added other alleged discrepancies came to light and Harewood prepared a "23,000 schedule of anomalies", including cocktails and food that were served and not recorded by Dine on the event reporting forms it provided to Harewood.

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A former trust chief executive, Terry Suthers, told the hearing: "By 2006 there were concerns raised whether the information we were getting was broadly satisfactory."

Cross-examined by Simon Myerson, representing Dine, Viscount David Lascelles, chairman of Harewood House Trust, said: "We were not being given accurate information."

Mr Myerson asked: "Dine could not be trusted, was that right?"

Viscount Lascelles replied: "I believe it was very difficult to have an ongoing business relationship."

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Elaine Speight, who at the time was director of visitor services and events at Harewood, told Mr Myerson that event organiser Lucy Attwood had been "quite horrified at some of the costs."

Ms Speight told the court how she was once called in over a row between Dine managing director Daniel Gill, whom she described as "volatile", and Ms Attwood.

Cross-examined by Simon Myerson, she said there had been a "personality clash'' between the two.

One of the problems was a muddy area and Miss Speight said: "I agreed to get some woodchips. It would have to be between Dine and Lucy Attwood as to who paid for it.''

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Cross-examined by Mr Myerson, Mr Mansell said: "After a period of trying to rebuild the relationship I decided it had no future and was seeking advice on possible termination."

Mr Myerson asked him: "At what stage did you not accept that option?"

Mr Mansell said "When I discovered Dine was in breach, in my opinion."

Mr Myerson said: "When had you begun to investigate whether Dine were in breach of contract?"

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Mr Mansell said: "Upon receipt of Attwood invoice. I was absolutely dumbfounded by discrepancies in Lucy Attwood's event."

Dine is counterclaiming for loss of profit on its agreement with Harewood House Trading Ltd – not far short of 1m.

The court was told Mr Gill's father was Michael Gill, the founder of the renowned Pool Court restaurant

The court hearing continues today.

A SPECIAL PLACE FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS

With its spectacular grounds and history Harewood House has become one of Yorkshire's top choices for those wanting to celebrate a special occasion.

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As well as hosting successful concerts and events in its grounds, its hospitality arm allows guests access to some of its state rooms and facilities for anything from a product launch to weddings, corporate training or filming.

Among the rooms available for events are its State dining room or Gallery, as well as "below stairs" rooms such as the old kitchen or former servants' halls.

Harewood House was built from 1759 to 1771 for Edwin Lascelles, whose family made its fortune in the West Indies.

Wanting only the best, Lascelles employed the finest craftsmen of the age – the house was designed by architect John Carr with lavish interiors by Robert Adam, while the grounds were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. Much of its furniture is by the 18th century English furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, who came from nearby Otley.

Harewood House remains the family seat of the Lascelles family.

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