Club promoter friend of princes sues bar over £350,000 fees

Prince William and Harry's close friend Guy Pelly has launched a High Court battle against a Kensington bar for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The club promoter claims he transformed struggling nightspot Artbar into a successful, Italian-style cocktail bar, but that the owners reneged on a deal and refused to pay him.

Mr Pelly, who runs nights popular with the young royals at venues including Mahiki in Mayfair, claims Artbar owes him and his business partners, Piers Adam and Nick House, £350,000.

The partners claim Artbar's owners, James and Bea Hollond, must pay them £250 an hour for more than 460 hours they put into refurbishment and

marketing, including nearly 70 hours spent "recruiting staff".

The promoters' writ alleges they pumped in more than £235,000 for a new sound system, seating and lighting, and paid off the bar's £2,000 debt to British Gas. They claim the Hollonds agreed in writing to let them run club nights at the venue once it reopened, and that they expected them to sign a formal contract about the collaboration further down the line, but the Hollonds refused.

Lawyers for Mr Pelly, Mr Adam and Mr House told the couple last August they either had to go through with the partnership or pay back the three for their time and financial investment.

The writ claims the promoters' work "materially enhanced" the Hollonds' business in the four months after the bar reopened at the end of March last year. It states that thanks to the promoters' networking, the venue received press coverage with an "equivalent advertising value" of £240,000.

The bar also experienced a "significant" uplift in takings worth an extra £38,000 over the period. The promoters claim they and their company, Lemington, are "entitled to restitution" for "monies and services provided".