"I am deeply sorry for how this has panned out"
Lee Westcott’s Elodie and Vervain restaurants, housed in the Birch Selsdon Hotel in South Croydon, have closed.
The news announced on the Birch Selsdon website comes a week after the group’s Chestnut hotel in Hertfordshire was also forced to shut its doors.
The statement confirms that Milan Vuceljic and Andrew Pear of Moorfields Advisory have taken the decision to close the hotel with immediate effect having been appointed joint administrators on 17 November.
Announcing the news on his own social media, Lee said: "It’s been a wild ride since joining and opening the two restaurants within such a short space of time. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every staff member that worked alongside me and helped us achieve so many amazing things together."
Lee added: "Thank you to all the amazing guests that dined, stayed and drank with us. I’m sure I’ll
see many of you around. To all the suppliers, firstly thank you for everything and secondly, I am deeply sorry for how this has panned out. I look forward to working with you all again in the near future."
The news comes after Birch Selsdon was confirmed to have fallen into administration alongside Birch Chestnut last week, but initially remained open.
Described as a cross between a hotel and a members club, Birch was the brainchild of Chris Penn, former managing director at The Ace Hotel in London, and entrepreneur Chris King.
The pair left the business earlier this year, replaced by a new management team led by managing director Ayo Akinsete.
It's expected that Lee’s Elodie restaurant will reopen “in a new site in the near future”.
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"I am deeply sorry for how this has panned out"
