Laurent de Gourcuff (born 1976 or 1977) ^[1] 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. ^[2] Laurent de Gourcuff was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine; ^[3] his parents ran restaurants and organised events. ^[4] After hosting paying parties as a 16-year-old and admitting to cheating on his baccalauréat, ^{[1] [5]} he graduated from the European Business School Paris. ^[5]

Career

His early career was as an owner of nightlife establishments. He started his first company, Octopussy, when he was 21, ^[6] and bought his first club, Les Planches, when he was 22. In 2008, he founded Groupe Noctis, ^{[3] [7]} which he expanded to include several restaurants and nightclubs in Paris, many in association with Gilles Malafosse. ^[1] His first restaurant was Monsieur Bleu, in the Palais de Tokyo, opened with Malafosse in 2013. ^{[4] [8]} He was one of a new generation of nightculb and restaurant entrepreneurs in Paris that also included Benjamin Patou [ fr] and Jean-Philippe Cartier. ^[9] 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. ^{[5] [7]}

As of May 2017 ^[update], Noctis also had establishments in La Baule-Escoublac and Marseille and on Île de Ré. ^[7] In July 2017, Accor acquired a 31% share in the company; ^[10] in 2021 this was increased to 40.8%. ^[11] Noctis was subsequently renamed to Paris Society and became known for "eatertainment". ^{[11] [12] [13]} It has also expanded outside France, including Raspoutine in Miami (a branch of the Paris cabaret restaurant Le Raspoutine [ fr]), Gigi in Dubai, ^[3] and properties in Los Angeles and London. ^[14] Many of de Gourcuff's restaurants offer views from elevated vantage points. ^{[3] [15]} In 2019, he transformed the former L'Opéra restaurant at the Palais Garnier opera house into CoCo, ^[16] a branch of which is scheduled to open in 2023 at the former Les Brotteaux station in Lyon. ^[17] In 2021, Paris Society partnered with the new owner to transform the 17th-century citadel [ fr] at Belle Île into a luxury hotel. ^[18] 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. ^{[3] [14] [19]}

By 2017, de Gourcuff's rivalry with Patou, chairman of Moma Group, had become contentious; ^[20] the two agreed in 2019 to end the conflict. ^[21] Beginning in February 2021, de Gourcuff and others were investigated in connection with the granting of a restaurant licence at Longchamp Racecourse; ^[22] he was reportedly called in for further questioning in early December 2022. ^[23] In November 2022, Accor announced its purchase of the outstanding stock in Paris Society, ^[14] whose estimated revenue for that year was €250 million, with de Gourcuff to remain at its head. ^[24] In March 2023, de Gourcuff announced that Paris Society had been chosen to operate Maxim's and planned an extensive renovation, ^[25] which has been completed. ^[26]

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. ^{[27] [28] [29]}

Personal life

De Gourcuff and his wife, Constance, ^[15] have three children. ^[4] He has a second residence in Eure. ^{[1] [5]} He is teetotal. ^{[4] [6] [9]}

References