A charcoal chicken owner sold his business to his friend for $100,000… What he did next ignited a fierce legal battle

An epic feud between two former friends over the ownership of a charcoal chicken shop ended up in court after one of them accepted $100,000 for the sale of the shop before ‘shamelessly’ seizing it.

Simon Munzer opened the Paradise Charcoal Chicken store in Mount Druitt in Sydney’s west in 2008, before selling it to his old friend Fouad Bachour for $100,000 14 years later in August 2022.

Mr Bachour later paid another $7,500 for shares and began paying suppliers and staff wages.

‘The landlord was asked to transfer the lease [Bachour]. The company’s suppliers have been notified of a change of ownership,” Judge Kelly Rees said in her decision.

The couple also signed a seven-page written agreement ratifying the sale in September 2022.

But in mid-October, Mr Munzer’s lawyer, who drafted the sale agreement, wrote to Mr Bachour to say his client “does not want to sell the company”.

He proposed another deal that would see him lease the business to another interested party for five years because he “didn’t want to lose the business forever”, according to the NSW Supreme Court ruling.

Mr Munzer told Mr Bachour: ‘I only sold it to you because I needed the money for my house.’

“I want the company back, and then I plan to license it for just five years. Are you willing to sell…?’

Mr. Bachour declined, saying it was no longer his business to sell.

Despite this, an email was sent to the landlord from the store’s shared address to ‘ignore the lease transfer’.

On October 31, a staff shortage prevented Mr Bachour from opening the store.

“However, Mr. Bachour received a text message from his son informing him that the case was open,” the ruling said.

“Mr. Bachour called the police and reported that someone had broken into the store.”

The store’s staff told Mr. Bachour that Mr. Munzer had opened the store for them.

Mr Munzer apologized to police: ‘I have thought about it further and I am simply not prepared to let the company go. I’ve built it up over the years and it’s mine. “I have decided to cancel the sale,” the judgment said.

Mr. Munzer told police that he had “thought things over even further and I am simply not willing to let the company go.” I’ve built it up over the years and it’s mine. I have decided to cancel the sale.’

No arrests have been made.

But in mid-October, Mr Munzer’s lawyer wrote to Mr Bachour to say his client “does not want to sell the company”, sparking a bitter court battle between the former friends.

After closing the store for a day, Mr. Bachour locked the doors with a chain.

“The next morning, when Mr. Bachour visited the property, the chain and lock lay broken on the floor,” the judgment said.

Mr. Munzer later hired a security company to keep his former friend away and for the next two years ran the store as if it were still his.

Mr Bachour started legal proceedings at the time.

Ultimately, Judge Rees agreed with Mr Bachour, finding that ‘Mr Munzer changed his mind and brazenly repossessed the shop at Mt Druitt’.

“Mr. Munzer sold the company to his old friend for $100,000 because he needed money,” she assessed.

“But Mr. Munzer changed his mind and very boldly repossessed the store. The only person exploited in this case was Mr. Bachour.”

Judge Rees ruled that the original written agreement to sell the store was a ‘valid and binding contract’ and ordered Mr Munzer to follow its terms.

The amount of damages owed by Mr. Munzer will be determined at a later date.