Life Sciences Park restaurant spent years operating without licence

Updated with Cook & Co. Ltd's statement

A restaurant operating inside the Malta Life Sciences Park operated for several years despite not having a valid operating licence.

An NAO audit found various shortcomings in the contract for provision of food and beverage services at the Malta Life Sciences Park and the Malta Digital Hub Ltd (MDH) in November 2015.

The lease agreement had been entered into between MDH and the company Cook & Co in 2016. Years later, Cook maintained that the RfP had been fraudulent because the premises had not been as described, giving rise to operational difficulties.

The NAO noted that the RfP provided bidders with an understanding of the broad objectives of the call, but its heading was ambiguous: rather than procuring a food and beverage service, Malta Enterprise was leasing a site from which this service was to be provided.

Other shortcomings were lack of detailed plans for the site, no site visit was held during bidding, gaps in documentation, and the notification of the successful bid came prior to the evaluation report for the endorsement of the Malta Enterprise board.

The main concern was the state of the premises and the onus of the works required to render it suitable for the envisaged use. Cook said the RfP only provided a limited understanding of the premises’ condition.

Cook started operating the Zenzero restaurant in January 2017, after securing a temporary operating licence in December 2016. When this expired in March 2017, Cook & Co Ltd continued to operate the restaurant for several years despite not having a valid licence.

The NAO asserts that Cook & Co Ltd’s failure to pay rent and other charges constituted a breach of the lease agreement. While the NAO noted that there existed several grounds for the rescinding of the lease, it is pertinent to note that judicial action instigated by the parties was ongoing at the time of reporting.

Cook & Co. Ltd statement

In its reaction to the NAO findings, Cook & Co. Ltd emphasised that it had requested the NAO investigation itself because of what it says were "very serious flaws" in the handling of the lease contract.

The company said the RfP lacked detailed information on the envisaged and permitted use of the site in question and the infrastructural requirements. This caused concern about the adequacy of the information provided by Malta Enterprise. "This led to serious doubts on how any prospective food and beverage operator, including Cook & Co. Ltd, could fulfil the obligations indicated on the RfP within two months from award notification," the company said.

The company noted the NAO's concern about the landlord's commitment in ensuring lawful use of the premises given the lease agreement failed to include assurances from MDH that the premises designated for a catering establishment was fit for the intended purpose.

"One can easily conclude that what MDH intended to achieve through the RfP and what could be done is totally different," the company said, blaming the government entity for mismanagement.

Cook & Co. Ltd said that it was the first to institute legal proceedings against MDH in August 2020. "The objective of these proceedings was to petitio the Rent Regulation Board to formally declare a breach of contract by MDH. In light of this breach, Cook & Co. Ltd is seeking an official release from all contractual obligations emanating from the contract and is seeking redress in the form of damages linked to the 2016 lease agreement, consequent to the asserted contractual breach by MDH," the company said.