Laurent de Gourcuff | |
---|---|
Born | Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
Alma mater | European Business School Paris |
Occupation | Businessman |
Title | Chairman and CEO, Paris Society |
Laurent de Gourcuff (born 1976 or 1977) [1] is a French businessman, the founder of the hospitality company Paris Society.
The de Gourcuffs are a Breton noble family, originally from Plovan. [2] Laurent de Gourcuff was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine; [3] his parents ran restaurants and organised events. [4] After hosting paying parties as a 16-year-old and admitting to cheating on his baccalauréat , [1] [5] he graduated from the European Business School Paris [5] , but never attended any Hotelschool [6] .
His early career was as an owner of nightlife establishments. He started his first company, Octopussy, when he was 21, [7] and bought his first club, Les Planches, when he was 22. In 2008, he founded Groupe Noctis, [3] [8] which he expanded to include several restaurants and nightclubs in Paris, many in association with Gilles Malafosse. [1] His first restaurant was Monsieur Bleu, in the Palais de Tokyo, opened with Malafosse in 2013. [4] [9] He was one of a new generation of nightculb and restaurant entrepreneurs in Paris that also included Benjamin Patou and Jean-Philippe Cartier. [10] Despite having to sell several properties in the mid-2000s to pay €3 million in personal debts from a bad investment, he re-established his company holdings and diversified into event spaces and hosting. [5] [8]
As of May 2017 [update] , Noctis also had establishments in La Baule-Escoublac and Marseille and on Île de Ré. [8] In July 2017, Accor acquired a 31% share in the company; [11] in 2021 this was increased to 40.8%. [12] Noctis was subsequently renamed to Paris Society and became known for "eatertainment". [12] [13] [14] It has also expanded outside France, including Raspoutine in Miami (a branch of the Paris cabaret restaurant Le Raspoutine ), Gigi in Dubai, [3] and properties in Los Angeles and London. [15] Many of de Gourcuff's restaurants offer views from elevated vantage points. [3] [16] In 2019, he transformed the former L'Opéra restaurant at the Palais Garnier opera house into CoCo, [17] a branch of which is scheduled to open in 2023 at the former Les Brotteaux station in Lyon. [18] In 2021, Paris Society partnered with the new owner to transform the 17th-century citadel at Belle Île into a luxury hotel. [19] In the early 2020s Paris Society also extensively renovated the former Cistercian Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey. formerly a three-star hotel, into a multi-restaurant luxury hotel with interior design by Cordélia de Castellane. [3] [15] [20]
By 2017, de Gourcuff's rivalry with Patou, chairman of Moma Group, had become contentious; [21] the two agreed in 2019 to end the conflict. [22] Beginning in February 2021, de Gourcuff and others were investigated in connection with the granting of a restaurant licence at Longchamp Racecourse; [23] he was reportedly called in for further questioning in early December 2022. [24] In November 2022, Accor announced its purchase of the outstanding stock in Paris Society, [15] whose estimated revenue for that year was €250 million, with de Gourcuff to remain at its head. [25] In March 2023, de Gourcuff announced that Paris Society had been chosen to operate Maxim's and planned an extensive renovation, [26] which has been completed. [27]
De Gourcuff and Paris Society were found guilty of corrupt dealings in connection with the Longchamp restaurant licence, and in February 2024 he was given a suspended sentence of two years in prison, fined €150,000, and barred from managing a business for five years. His lawyers announced that he would appeal. [28] [29] [30]
De Gourcuff and his wife, Constance, [16] have three children. [4] He has a second residence in Eure. [1] [5] He is teetotal. [4] [7] [10]
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