Conran threatens coq legal dispute

By Rosalind Mullen

Conran Restaurants has warned a London restaurateur that it may take legal action over a registered trade name if it misleads customers.

Sir Terence Conran plans to open a restaurant in August under the name Coq d'Argent at One Poultry in the City, but fears customers may get confused with Café Coq, which recently opened in the West End's Shaftesbury Avenue.

Simon Brown, finance director at Conran, has written to Café Coq partner and major shareholder Chris Bromley asking him to change the name.

Brown said the group had registered the name Coq d'Argent in October 1996, whereas Bromley's application is still being processed.

Brown argues that whether or not the concepts are similar is immaterial. Coq d'Argent will have 150 seats and an average spend of about £40-£45. Café Coq, co-founded by Slug and Lettuce pub chain founder Hugh Corbett, has 76 seats and average spend is £10-£12 a head.

"We're not saying he is pretending to be us and we won't take legal action at the moment, but if confusion arises we will have to enforce our rights," said Brown.

Bromley said he had no intention of changing the name, arguing that the only word in common is coq, which is not unusual when applied to a bar or restaurant.

He added that at this stage he did not know whether he would fight any potential action, but said: "As far as we're advised it would be difficult to prove there was a conflict of interest."