Laurent De Gourcuff

Laurent de Gourcuff (born 1976 or 1977)
, '' Les Echos'', 1 February 2018 is a French businessman, the founder of the hospitality company Paris Society.

Early life and education

The de Gourcuffs are a Breton noble family, originally from Plovan. Laurent de Gourcuff was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine;I. Duvantoux
"Laurent de Gourcuff, nouveau roi des restaurants branchés"
, ''Entreprendre'', 28 November 2022 . his parents ran restaurants and organised events.Matthias Gurtler
"Laurent de Gourcuff: le fondateur de Paris Society nous ouvre les portes de ses restaurants"
, ''Gala'', 20 January 2023 . After hosting paying parties as a 16-year-old and admitting to cheating on his ''baccalauréat'',Audrey Levy
"Laurent de Gourcuff, l'homme qui règne sur la nuit parisienne"
''Le Parisien'', 13 July 2017 . he graduated from the European Business School Paris.

Career

His early career was as an owner of nightlife establishments. He started his first company, Octopussy, when he was 21,Marine Normand
"Les grandes figures de la nuit: Laurent de Gourcuff"
, ''Villa Schweppes'', 12 December 2013 . and bought his first club, Les Planches, when he was 22. In 2008, he founded Groupe Noctis,Nathalie Villard
"Qui est ce roi des nuits parisiennes sur lequel AccorHotels mise gros?"
, ''Capital'', 16 May 2017 . which he expanded to include several restaurants and nightclubs in Paris, many in association with Gilles Malafosse. His first restaurant was Monsieur Bleu, in the Palais de Tokyo, opened with Malafosse in 2013. He was one of a new generation of nightculb and restaurant entrepreneurs in Paris that also included and Jean-Philippe Cartier.Denis Cosnard
"La nuit leur appartient"
''Le Monde'', 3 May 2012 . Despite having to sell several properties in the mid-2000s to pay €3 million in personal debts from a bad investment, he re-established his company holdings and diversified into event spaces and hosting.

, Noctis also had establishments in La Baule-Escoublac and Marseille and on Île de Ré. In July 2017, Accor acquired a 31% share in the company; in 2021 this was increased to 40.8%.Nadine Bayle
"Comment Paris Society a misé sur l'eatertainment' de luxe et une cuisine instagrammable"
''Le Monde'', 27 June 2022 . Noctis was subsequently renamed to Paris Society and became known for "eatertainment". It has also expanded outside France, including Raspoutine in Miami (a branch of the Paris cabaret restaurant ), Gigi in Dubai, and properties in Los Angeles and London."Paris Society, Accor's latest acquisition, is going global"
TTG Media, 29 November 2022. Many of de Gourcuff's restaurants offer views from elevated vantage points.Loïc Grasset
"Laurent de Gourcuff: tout Paris à ses pieds"
''Paris Match'', 18 August 2022 . In 2019, he transformed the former L'Opéra restaurant at the Palais Garnier opera house into CoCo, a branch of which is scheduled to open in 2023 at the former Les Brotteaux station in Lyon. In 2021, Paris Society partnered with the new owner to transform the 17th-century at Belle Île into a luxury hotel. In the early 2020s Paris Society also extensively renovated the former Cistercian Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey. formerly a three-star hotel, into a multi-restaurant luxury hotel with interior design by Cordélia de Castellane.

By 2017, de Gourcuff's rivalry with Patou, chairman of Moma Group, had become contentious; the two agreed in 2019 to end the conflict. Beginning in February 2021, de Gourcuff and others were investigated in connection with the granting of a restaurant licence at Longchamp Racecourse; he was reportedly called in for further questioning in early December 2022. In November 2022, Accor announced its purchase of the outstanding stock in Paris Society, whose estimated revenue for that year was €250 million, with de Gourcuff to remain at its head. In March 2023, de Gourcuff announced that Paris Society had been chosen to operate Maxim's and planned an extensive renovation, which has been completed.

De Gourcuff and Paris Society were found guilty of corrupt dealings in connection with the Longchamp restaurant licence, and in February 2024 he was given a suspended sentence of two years in prison, fined €150,000, and barred from managing a business for five years. His lawyers announced that he would appeal.

Personal life

De Gourcuff and his wife, Constance, have three children, Dimitri, Paloma and Léonard. He has a second residence in Eure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourcuff, Laurent de
1970s births
Living people
Year of birth uncertain
21st-century French businesspeople

European Business School Paris alumni