Couple who stole £150000 from Great British Menu's Stephen Terry spared jail time
Gino D'Acampo Restaurant Chain Investigation: £5M Debt, Missing Documents, and Stakeholder Conduct Under Scrutiny
Great British Menu chef Stephen Terry's restaurant suffered £150000 fraud, court told
Jamie Oliver to recoup £2.4 million from collapse of UK restaurant business
13 injured after mezzanine floor collapses at Hackney Wick pub
Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo is facing an investigation into his restaurant chain, following it's financial collapse and eyewatering level of debt.
An inquiry has been initiated to investigate the reasons behind the financial collapse of the Gino D'Acampo restaurant chain, which accumulated over £5 million in debt.
The story reported in The Sun newspaper revealed that Azets Holdings, the appointed liquidators, has begun the investigation, which is expected to cost at least £150,000.
The focus of the inquiry will be on the missing company documents and the actions of key stakeholders.
Previously known as Gino D'Acampo Worldwide Restaurant Limited, the company changed its name to IRG (OLD) WWR Limited in January 2022.
Despite being declared solvent in April of that year, joint liquidators were appointed in July. Azets has expressed uncertainty regarding the sudden appearance of a creditor who claims £5.38 million from the company.
The investigation will delve into the exclusion of the debt owed to Gino D'Acampo from the initial paperwork, the location of the company's books and records, and the behavior of major stakeholders leading up to the liquidation.
The Sun reported that the major shareholders are Gino D'Acampo himself, who owns a 10% stake, and Individual Restaurants Group (IRG), which acquired a 75% stake in 2019.
The liquidators have already conducted interviews with directors and creditors as part of their ongoing investigation, but the details remain undisclosed to avoid prejudicing the case.
A report on the directors' conduct has been submitted to the government and is currently confidential. Azets estimates that their total fees for the investigation will amount to approximately £275,000, considering the extent of the work they deem necessary.
Before becoming part of Individual Restaurants Group in 2019, Gino D'Acampo Worldwide Restaurants operated five Italian restaurant locations.
Additionally, in January 2022, Gino D'Acampo's My Pasta Bar business entered liquidation, although D'Acampo asserted that it was unrelated to his other restaurants.
Following the liquidation, five Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant sites were rebranded under Individual Restaurants' Riva Blu brand.
Since then, Gino D'Acampo has partnered with hotel groups Melia and Marriott International to open new sites across the country.
In November 2020, Individual Restaurants was sold to Ice Acquisitions, controlled by the founder of Iceland supermarket chain, for over £40 million.
Representatives for Individual Restaurants and Gino D'Acampo have been contacted for comment, but no response has been provided thus far.
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
Gino D'Acampo Restaurant Chain Investigation: £5M Debt, Missing Documents, and Stakeholder Conduct Under Scrutiny
Couple who stole £150000 from Great British Menu's Stephen Terry spared jail time
Great British Menu chef Stephen Terry's restaurant suffered £150000 fraud, court told
Jamie Oliver to recoup £2.4 million from collapse of UK restaurant business
13 injured after mezzanine floor collapses at Hackney Wick pub
