Kerala Peppery was an external tenant based within the hotel
Oleg Ignatiev is the owner of Newquay Beach Hotel(Image: Newquay Beach Hotel)
The owner of a Cornwall hotel has slammed its restaurant operator amid the sudden closure of the eatery and claims staff working there have been “left unpaid”.
Newquay Beach Hotel is owned by Oleg Ignatiev, who bought the property in 2019 and let it out to global hotel operator OYO in 2024. OYO, in turn, sublet the restaurant to an external tenant – Indian chain Kerala Peppery, which is owned by 32-year-old Jyothi Prakash, according to Companies House.
It is understood that Kerala Peppery employed its staff, including the chef, separately from other workers in the hotel.
All the issues came to light after the mum of a Kerala Peppery restaurant worker criticised the hotel on Facebook, claiming staff – including her daughter – had not been paid since late October.
Emma Butterly wrote: “Staff have not been paid since the end of October. All still awaiting this!!! After continuously asking the manager for an update, told to just resign!!!! The staff have since refused to work due to being left out of pocket with no updates from management. Refusing to resign!!”
Speaking to Business Live, Mr Ignatiev said OYO had paid all its own staff – but accused Kerala Peppery’s owner of leaving the restaurant workers out of pocket.
Oleg Ignatiev is the owner of Newquay Beach Hotel(Image: Newquay Beach Hotel)
“When OYO took over, they wanted to sublet and they chose an Indian restaurant,” he told Business Live. “They let it to Kerala Peppery. It’s so seasonal and a hard restaurant to run, and you need to win the locals, and it wasn’t focused on locals – it was about feeding people in the hotel.
“They have failed. The restaurant in my hotel shut before January.” He added: “OYO has paid their staff and me consistently. But Kerala Peppery has not paid rent to OYO, hasn’t paid its chef or the restaurant workers.”
Business Live has contacted Ms Prakash about the allegations but has had no response. According to Google, Kerala Peppery’s other restaurant, in Crewe, is permanently closed.
A spokesperson for OYO said: “Certain hotel functions, including kitchen and food operations, were operated by an independent third-party restaurant partner. The restaurant was leased to an experienced and growing operator with an existing track record of running food businesses, and there was no indication at the outset that operations or staff would be put at risk.”
OYO said it was “taken by surprise” by the operator’s “sudden disappearance and failure to meet basic obligations”, including payment of staff wages and rent.
“The operator subsequently became unresponsive,” the spokesperson added. “OYO continues to make efforts to locate and engage with the operator to seek clarity and resolution.
“We are especially concerned about the impact on the restaurant staff. Their situation is deeply regrettable. As arrangements are made to bring in a new operator, OYO would strongly encourage the incoming partner to consider retaining these employees.
“In the meantime, OYO will continue trying to trace the previous operator for the fulfilment of outstanding obligations. We regret the disruption caused by these events and remain focused on stabilising operations and maintaining the standards expected at the hotel.”
Mr Ignatiev says the restaurant within his hotel is a “great opportunity”, and a potential future tenant could currently “get a good deal”.
“It is huge and has outside terrace space,” he said. “It’s a great spot and because you’re coming into season for the next eight months OYO are willing to make a deal.”