Fame and Fortune: Gems and small beer sparkle | The Sunday Times
06/05/2013 14:37
Fame and Fortune: Gems and small
beer sparkle
David Moore, the man behind two top restaurants in London, has feasted
financially by backing start-up businesses
Holly Thomas Published: 5 May 2013
DAVID
MOORE,
the
restaurateur
and chef
behind the
Michelinstarred
restaurant
Pied à Terre
in central
London, has
pocketed
30% tax
relief
investing in
a start-up
brewery and
a diamond
trading
company.
The 48year-old
David Moore is now looking to expand his restaurant empire (Francesco Guidicini)
opened the
restaurant
in Charlotte Street in 1991 with head chef Richard Neat. It quickly earned two Michelin stars; it
currently has one.
Moore fought back from near financial ruin after Pied à Terre burnt to the ground in 2004 due to an
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/money/fameandfortune/article1254344.ece
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Fame and Fortune: Gems and small beer sparkle | The Sunday Times
06/05/2013 14:37
electrical fault. He is now in talks to set up outlets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.
In 2007 he opened a sister restaurant, L’Autre Pied. The two London restaurants have a total turnover
of £4m.
Moore moved from Monaghan in Ireland to Blackpool at the age of 12. There he later trained as a chef
before landing a job at the Raymond Blanc restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, in Great Milton,
Oxfordshire.
He has appeared on television as an inspector on the BBC2 reality show The Restaurant alongside
Blanc, as well as appearing on MasterChef: The Professionals and Out of the Frying Pan, both on BBC2.
Moore lives in Bloomsbury, London, with his wife, Valerie Woods, 44, who is a doctor of health
ergonomics and currently a stay-at-home mum with their two daughters Fauve, 6, and Frankie, 3.
How much money do you have in your wallet?
About £100. I always make sure I have cash — especially to fund my coffee habit. Most mornings I stop
at the Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street, which is one of my luxuries. It costs £2.90 for a flat
white. I could just come to work and have a free cup, but I like the chatter and banter at the coffee
shop.
What credit cards do you use?
I use a British Airways American Express Premium Plus card. This earns Avios points that convert into
free flights. [The card has an annual fee of £150 and travellers must pay taxes on the flights.] When I
get the chance, I hope to use them to book business-class flights for my wife and I to go somewhere. I
also use a Capital One Platinum card that pays 0.5% cashback. I earned £180 last year and used the
money to take my wife shopping.
Are you a saver or a spender?
I am a huge spender and currently trying to replenish reserves after a very expensive year.
What did you earn last year?
I’m a top-rate taxpayer, begrudgingly, although I’m thrilled to see the level of tax has fallen to 45% [on
earnings above £150,000].
Have you ever been hard up?
Oh yes. When I first opened Pied à Terre, it was really tough to make ends meet. I took a huge pay cut
leaving Le Manoir to go it alone. But being in the restaurant business, I never went hungry.
When the restaurant burnt down in 2004, times were tough because our “business interruption” policy
was underinsured, which meant that while it was being rebuilt (it took 11 months) I had to pay a
proportion of the wages for 15 staff, among other expenses, out of my own pocket to keep the company
going. All the directors had to chip in. Cashflow was a serious problem at the time.
Do you own a property?
Yes, the family home in Bloomsbury. We originally bought the lower-floor two-bed flat in 1998 and six
years later bought the same-sized flat upstairs. We were grateful that the second flat came on to the
market as we were looking for a buy-to-let property. It was also a relief because the previous owners
were in the music industry and had late, loud parties. Suffice to say, when we let the flat, the tenancy
agreement stipulated that loud noise after 10pm was forbidden.
It wasn’t all bad, however. When visitors pressed our door number by mistake, the faces of bands they
managed, such as the Pet Shop Boys, would appear on our video intercom.
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Fame and Fortune: Gems and small beer sparkle | The Sunday Times
06/05/2013 14:37
In 2010 we had our second child and decided it was time to have more space. Moving was going to cost
a fortune — in stamp duty alone — so we knocked the two flats together.
Last year we cashed in £160,000 of Isas, endowments and any other investments we had to pay for it.
Now we have a four-bed, two-bathroom home that’s nearly 3,000 sq ft and is worth three times what
we paid for the two flats individually. It’s stunning and we have seen a 30% return on our original
investment. We do, however, miss the income from the tenants. We received about £28,000 a year in
rent and used it to overpay on the mortgage.
What was your first job?
I was a kitchen porter at the Glenshee hotel in Blackpool after college. Washing up all day, I was
permanently soaked. I managed to get a job at Le Manoir and was the first English-speaking waiter; the
rest spoke French. I worked double shifts five, six days a week and worked my way up to assistant
restaurant manager.
When I was ready to open my own restaurant, I started spreading the word by chatting to the regulars,
such as Max Mosley, Lord Lichfield, the Rothschild family and [the artist] Richard Hamilton. Richard,
who died in 2011, ended up being our biggest investor.
What’s been your most lucrative work?
I have had some consultancy work where I’ve gone in and charged a day rate way above anything I
thought would be accepted. I can earn about £1,200 for a day.
Are you better off than your parents?
Yes. My parents ran small businesses. My dad had a dry cleaners and a petrol station. My mum is a
very dynamic woman and built up a small hotel in Ireland. When trouble hit in the 1970s she just
wanted out, so we moved to Blackpool and we bought a block of holiday flats, which she managed until
she retired. I remember from a very early age my dad saying, why would I want to work for somebody
else? It was good advice.
Do you invest in shares?
I have an account with the Share Centre for investing in stocks. I did particularly well out of a stock tip
from The Sunday Times back in 1999. Vocalis [a voice-recognition service] was tipped when it was £1 a
share. I bought £5,000 worth and sold a third for £3 and another third for £5. I kept the rest, which
sadly became worth nothing, but I still made a decent profit.
Most of my investments tend to be enterprise investment schemes [which allow investors in start-up
firms to qualify for 30% income tax relief]. I mostly put money into hospitality businesses, including
the London Cocktail Club, buying a 17% stake in 2010, and the Van Zeller restaurant in Harrogate. I
recently invested in a jeweller called Diamond Manufacturers because I know the owner and like the
business.
I have also helped friends to realise their dream of opening a brewery. Treboom is near York and makes
quality beer. After 15 months of trading, it has become profit-making and now it is planning expansion
into bottling and producing bags of beer in 18-pint quantities.
What’s better for retirement — property or pension?
Overall, property is going to perform better than a pension. The problem with pensions is that there’s
always somebody else holding the purse-strings.
If a different government comes in and wants to change the terms, you’ve got no control over that. But
I do pay into a self-invested personal pension with Skandia, which carries out a quarterly review to
make sure I’m happy with the fund selection. It’s worth making use of the tax breaks.
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Fame and Fortune: Gems and small beer sparkle | The Sunday Times
06/05/2013 14:37
What’s been your best investment?
Borrowing £5,000 from my mum to open Pied à Terre. I paid her back every penny — with interest.
What about the worst?
I put £12,500 into a company that makes unmanned aircraft 10 years ago and never made back a
penny. I don’t think I’ve ever told my wife that.
Do you manage your own financial affairs?
HFS Milbourne Financial takes care of my pension and life insurance. I also use a tax accountant. I’d
never do it myself.
What’s the most extravagant thing you have ever bought?
I like buying bespoke William Hunt suits, which can cost up to £3,000. I also love watches. I have a
collection with pieces worth anything from £50 for a 1970s digital to £7,000 for a Zenith — although
that was a wedding present from my wife.
What’s your money weakness?
Art from Bonhams auctions. I went along to buy a print, which was to be a birthday present for my
wife, and I came away with prints by Hamilton, Dali, Henry Moore and Matisse that set me back
£5,000.
What aspect of the tax system would you change?
I would like to see a VAT reduction for the hospitality trade. In France, VAT on restaurants is 5%.
What’s your financial priority?
To pay off my mortgage in five years.
What’s the most important lesson you have learnt about money?
To look after every single pound.
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