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Worrall Thompson closes six restaurants with 60 job losses
Mark Blunden and Simon Kirby9 Feb 2009
London's restaurants face a year of turmoil, warned celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson after he was forced to close six of his establishments.
His dire prediction came today as he blamed the banks for the closure of his restaurants.
Sixty staff lost their jobs when the 57-year-old, who built his personal fortune from several ventures in London, shut his restaurants and pubs and put his company AWT Restaurants into administration after Lloyds Banking Group refused to extend his overdraft.
Notting Grill, one of three venues to close in London, is the biggest casualty, with 23 staff losing their jobs. They have been told to come to the restaurant in Clarenden Road, Notting Hill, today to receive their final wages.
Worrall Thompson has pledged they will get their outstanding wages, even if he has to pay them from his own pocket.
He told the Evening Standard: “We were gutted the banks didn't help us. I feel very let down. With six restaurants you could expect a loan of about £1 million.
“Lloyds would not give us the money without personal guarantees. We built up the business without borrowing any money at all, apart from an overdraft.”
He said that all six venues, which include Barnes Grill, would have survived had he been able to borrow £200,000 for the first four months of this year.
The TV chef dipped into his own savings of £250,000 to buy back two of his restaurants, Windsor Grill and Kew Grill, and his shop the Windsor Larder from the administrators.
But he refused meet the bank's demand to risk his own home to save the entire company, which also included The Greyhound and The Lamb Inn, both in Worrall Thompson's home town of Henley-on-Thames. The bank wanted him to put his separate business, Organic Partnership, up as collateral. But he refused, claiming it was “far too dangerous”.
He added: “I'm not of the age where I can give a personal guarantees and I didn't want to jeopardise the future of my family.
“We were left with Windsor and Kew, the only ones we could afford, and I didn't want to go to venture capitalists for finance.”
Now Worrall Thompson predicts lean times for the capital's family restaurants. He said: “Middle-of-the-market restaurants are going to suffer most, not just the big names.”
Worrall Thompson visited each of the doomed restaurants on Friday to tell staff their jobs no
longer existed.
A letter from him and his business partner David Wilby was handed to the redundant workers. It read: “We are so sad to see the loss of AWT Restaurants Ltd, which we have spent so many years building, with all your help, support and hard work. We are very sorry to lose all of you.”
Worrall Thompson has pledged that his former staff, who are owed a month's pay, will get their money.
Reader views (17)
I'm really disappointed that Anthony has shut the Lamb in Satwell. Every time I went in there, it was very busy and even in the last few months I've either been unable to get a table or had a long wait, particularly on a Sunday. It appears rather short sighted and quite a negative approach from AW-T and perhaps a more positive and sensible thing would have been to offer deals etc. rather than close the doors completely.
- Max, Henley, 13/02/2009 07:47
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Ive used the Lamb and Greyhound on several occasions. Not suprised to see the Greyhound go but cant believe AWT was short sighted enough to let the Lamb go-I do agree though that if AWT wasnt prepared to put personal guarantees up then on his head be it and he cant have been that sure of his own business. I just hope all the staff manage to find alternative employment.
- Gareth Johns, Emmer Green, 10/02/2009 16:58
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It's a question of confidence. If he doesn't have the confidence to put up collateral, why should the bank feel that it should risk it's (the tax payer's really!) money. A man of his background and connections in the trade should easily have been able to raise the cash, if the cash flow projections made sense.
I think that this is a case of someone with talent and energy doing well in a good market, but when things like financial acumen are needed in a downturn, he comes up short.
- Coylum, vancouver, Canada, 10/02/2009 02:31
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I've eaten at the Lamb at Satwell a few times and found it an excellent little pub/restaurant. I had thought a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef would be too expensive for us (not everyone who lives near Henley is wealthy). But the Lamb had good food, modestly priced and friendly staff, especially the guy who ran the front of house. I only wish I'd eaten there more, but I've been dieting for much of the last few years and wasn't eating out very much at all. I just hope the staff get other good jobs quickly as they certainly deserve it!
I've worked in accounts departments for smaller businesses, and a £200,000 overdraft is not very much for a business of that size. Overdraft facilities are routinely needed even for profitable businesses, to cope with the cash-flow ups and downs through the year. They certainly don't mean the business is in debt all the time, but sometimes money has to be paid out before it comes in. Also, a lot of cash will have been invested in these businesses, and this typically takes years to earn back.
If the bank had just allowed a little time to sell the two restaurants which have already been closed, they would have got the money and the overdraft probably wouldn't be needed after that.
I'm considering taking my remaining savings out of Lloyds bank as they haven't given me much interest on it. I only hope the banks don't use our taxpayers' money to pay their own staff large bonuses instead of saving other people's jobs.job
- Gay Cooper, Oxfordshire, 09/02/2009 17:48
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Terrible service in Notting Hill when I went there and AWT didn't even reply to an email I sent pointing this out. Staff all too cool to care.
If you believe in your business you are prepared to put up your assets as collaterall. Bu all these bloomin self-absorbed tv chefs wants it all - I mean 6 restaurants - try running one properly! Ramsey, Aitkens - its pure greed.
- Jessica, london, 09/02/2009 17:04
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Wants bank to take the risk he is not prepared to take himself.
How can he expect sympathy from the public. He has lived well over the years. He could have prepared himself for a rainy day. His businessses obviously not well run and he has eaten into the profits over the years!! He is not destitiute is he or homeless.
- Anelda Lappas, Bushey Heath, 09/02/2009 16:02
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Sean of Portsmouth. Well said!
- Mel Barrows, Tenerife. Canary Islands., 09/02/2009 16:02
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Inevitable really - I pass his Barnes restaurant every day and it's been empty every evening for months. We went there once and didn't go back. Totally overpriced and you had the feeling that they were trying to squeeze as much money out of you as possible by recommending the most expensive wines and plates. Not a good way of building up a loyal local fan base. People are still eating out regularly but the competitors are offering much better deals to make it more affordable.
- Mark, Barnes, 09/02/2009 15:55
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AWT may have had his goose cooked by the bank, but it begs the question.
Are the Directors of Lloyds TSB and all the other banks the taxpayer is bailing out putting their houses on the line and giving us personal guarantees for the money we are lending their badly run high risk companies?
Surely what’s sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander
- Lyndon Gee, Westminster, 09/02/2009 15:20
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look I'm not sure its anyone's fault.
these are tough times, and sometimes its goes one way or the other.
but the blaming the bank bit is a bit rich:
"Lloyds would not give us the money without personal guarantees..."
which is another way of saying that the bank would not accept the trading risk from AWT's incorporated limited liability company. I can't quite see why he thinks they should take this risk if they are not comfortable with how its trading. after all, all he's really put forward is that we needed £200K for the first 4 months? says who? what if it's not 4 months?
I presume what he really means is that until the summer season starts, because the winter has been really bad. now this is probably true, except the summer season - if you're a cyclical business - has to last all year round. otherwise we'd be back in the same position this time next year.
- Scott, London, 09/02/2009 14:53
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Nick said "I think it is about time former owners were prevented from buying businesses back off the administrators leaving creditors without their money".
That's absolutely correct, this is a large part of the reason why things are in the state they are, because people wouldn't back their own judgement, wanting others to take the risk.
Its a shame Worrall Thompson has been able to continued unimpeded.
- Roger, london, 09/02/2009 14:49
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Paul,
I guess we have your say-so that Wozza is a 'die-hard' Tory supporter. Nick earlier gets it right - why should the banks take a risk when the chef is not prepared to do so himself? Perhaps he is blaming the banks to avoid a crash like Tom Aikens' group suffered, owing £100,000's.
- Tom, London, 09/02/2009 12:36
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Yeah well boo-hoo. Maybe he should step up and and personally secure the loans with collateral like the rest of us normal people do. Lots of people risk their homes and savings for business ventures....it's called taking a risk - or speculate to accumulate...don't want to take the risk? Then don't winge in the newspaper about it. Join the rest of us folks who live here on Earth.
- Sean, Portsmouth, UK, 09/02/2009 12:24
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If the risk was as slight as he claims why was he not prepared to back it himself? He presents himself as a hero for having bought some of the business of the administrator, I'm sure his creditors don't see it that way.
He used £250,000 to buy the businesses now free of debt, yet wasn't prepared to put up £200,000 of collateral to support the overdraft for a business proposition that he claimed had a "slight" risk.
I think it is about time former owners were prevented from buying businesses back off the administrators leaving creditors without their money.
- Nick, Dorset, 09/02/2009 11:53
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Could it be that customers have got fed up with this chef's poor offerings?
- William, London, 09/02/2009 11:00
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This man, a die hard Tory called for all the banks to be nationalised this morning on TV because he wants his bank to take all the risk in financing his business without he himself putting up any collateral. Poor chap. You cannot have your cake and eat it.
- Paul, London Uk., 09/02/2009 10:44
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AWT has been bank bashing, blaming their lack of lending for the downfall of he business. What he doesn't understand is that the banks (like everyone except AWT) know that the country is slashing discretionary spending in restaurants, and leisure generally.
Why would you want to lend to a business that was highly likley to fail? As a bank shareholder, I am glad they don't.
Ask why didnt he use his own GBP250k to tide his business over for 4 months, if it was going to be profitable as he maintains? Because he knew it would go under and didnt want to lose his money, he would rather lose the banks cash.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, 09/02/2009 09:47
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