Briton in court battle with Saudi royals over fish and chip shop empire

Linda J. Dodson

A British entrepreneur who successfully introduced English fish and chips to the Middle East is suing leading members of the Saudi royal family for allegedly ruining his business after he claims their company failed to make good on a multi-million pound deal.

Gary Arnold, 50, says the failure of the Saudi royals’ company to keep its part of the deal has left him facing financial ruin, a jail sentence and repossession of his home for unpaid debts, as well as being separated from his family and unable to return to the UK due to the confiscation of his passport.

Mr Arnold and his lawyers say that he and his business partners have not received the money agreed in 2017 as part of the merger and acquisition of their firm, London Business Group, by the Saudis’ family company, Harbor Holdings-Himmah Foods.

They claim the company breached a legally-binding agreement to buy out their share of the multi-million pound business they founded and to fund its expansion in Saudi Arabia and the UAE even though the deal was ratified with a due diligence report by accountants PWC.

A court in Jeddah ruled in favour of Mr Arnold and his business partners – and, as a result, his lawyers, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, are now seeking to have that verdict against the Saudi’s business reaffirmed by the high court in London.

The move pits Mr Arnold and his partners against a high-profile family of Saudi Arabian royals, central to which is Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, who is the current chairman of Harbor Holdings.

Two other royals are linked to the company but deny any involvement in the fish and chip deal. They are its ex-chairman Prince Khalid bin Bandar al Saud, who is Saudi ambassador to London, and its co-founder Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud, who is Saudi ambassador to Washington.

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