By Gerard Couzens & Ryan Fahey
Police are hunting gunmen who fired shots at popular celeb Costa del Sol restaurant La Sala.
Two men believed to have escaped on a getaway vehicle described as a high-powered motorbike are still being hunted. A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed the incident at lunchtime today, saying: “Fortunately no-one has been injured.”
The venue in upmarket Puerto Banus near Marbella is popular with British tourists. Pictures from the scene show glass all over the floor of the eatery. Part of one of the windows has been completely destroyed. The establishment is understood to have been hit by at least five bullets. It was not immediately clear if any customers had been in La Sala at the time.
The venture is understood to be still backed by shareholders and former footballers including David Bentley and Stephen Carr who played for Tottenham, Newcastle and Birmingham. Visitors over the years have included Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Erling Harland, Jurgen Klopp and Harry Maguire.
The incident happened around 12.30pm today. A spokesman for La Sala said: “We open every day from 10am and were open at the time but have closed for the time being because of the incident. We are not sure yet if we will open this evening.” A worker said: “It was pretty terrifying. It’s a miracle no-one was hurt.”
On February 10 a man described as being of ‘Nordic origin’ was rushed to hospital after being shot in the street in Nueva Andalucia, a residential area behind Puerto Banus, by one of two individuals who got out of a car and fled in the same vehicle. He was injured in the arm and a leg. There is no suggestion today’s shooting is linked to the earlier incident.
Last July tourists were forced to run for cover after a gunman appeared from nowhere and fired towards a restaurant in Puerto Banus. Police at the time were said to have been hunting two people including a man who appeared to have been armed with a sub-machine gun following the dramatic incident.
The moments leading up to the shooting showed two bare-chested men who looked like tourists making a run for it before the gunman, thought to have got out of a car an accomplice was driving before they made their getaway, appeared on the scene. Local reports said three shots were heard ringing out.
The drama happened in broad daylight around 6pm on July 18 last year in the vicinity of the Cristamar shopping centre, home to shops, offices, and restaurants, in the heart of Puerto Banus which in summer is always thronging with tourists from the UK and Ireland. The shots were fired into an eatery which was not named. Miraculously no-one was injured. The getaway vehicle used in the shooting was later found gutted nearby. One well-placed source said La Sala had been hit by stray bullets fired on the roundabout outside the premises. The source said: “La Sala wasn’t the target.”
La Sala opened in 2010. It boasts on its website of being the only restaurant in the municipality of Marbella, which includes Puerto Banus, that offers live music, singers and DJs seven days a week and all day on Sundays. The website adds: “Whether for the launch of the latest Bentley or welcoming Jamie Oliver for dinner, La Sala is now receiving worldwide recognition.
It is a flagship venue of Sala Group Holdings. Its chairman Ian Radford worked as a squash professional after moving to Marbella before developing a sports travel business. Former midfielder David Bentley, once branded ‘the next David Beckham’, retired from football to focus on La Sala and remains a shareholder of the Sala group which owns bars and restaurants in Spain and Gibraltar.
He admitted to The Athletic in 2020 that he could have continued to play football and make more money but didn’t.
He said: “I’ve got more money than when I started. If I’ve got £100, I’m alright. I loved football but then it ran its course.”
