Trouble simmering? Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group hit by US$5m loss, plans to shut flagship London eatery

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group has swung to a multimillion dollar loss as it plans to shut one of its flagship venues, Maze in London’s Mayfair, and open five new restaurants overseas.

Kavalake, the holding company for the group – which includes some of London’s most famous restaurants such as Petrus, Savoy Grill, Maze and Bread Street Kitchen – reported a pre-tax loss of £3.8 million (US$5.2 million) in the year to the end of August 2017.

The business was hit by a £1.75 million legal bill for costs in a long-running legal dispute with Rowan Seibel, Ramsay’s former business partner in the Fat Cow, the Los Angeles restaurant that was shut in 2014.

The group, which has only made a profit in one year since 2012, reported a small dip of 1 per cent in revenues to £51.4 million.

Revenues were hit by the overhaul and five-month closure of Plane Food, Ramsay’s venture at Heathrow’s terminal 5, which contributed to revenue from its UK restaurant operation falling from £48.3 million to £45.9 million.

Revenue from the group’s international operations, which has licence agreements for 18 restaurants around the world, rose 52 per cent year on year to £5.4m. Outlets include Bread Street Kitchen & Bar in Central in Hong Kong, and London House in Tsim Sha Tsui.