Investigation launched into collapse of Gino D'Acampo restaurant chain

An investigation has been launched into why a restaurant chain part-owned by Gino D’Acampo has gone bust with over £5m in debt.

Liquidators from Azets Holdings have begun an inquiry, expected to cost upwards of £150,000, into why company documents have gone missing and the conduct of major stakeholders.

The business was formerly known as Gino D’Acampo Worldwide Restaurant Limited but changed its name to IRG (OLD) WWR Limited in January 2022.

Last April, IRG was declared solvent and two directors signed a declaration that it would be able to pay its debts in full. However, joint liquidators were appointed in July.

Azets said it is unclear why a creditor suddenly appeared and is owed £5.38m from the company.

The investigation will cover why debt owed to D’Acampo was not included in the original paperwork, the “whereabouts of the company books and records”, and the conduct of major stakeholders in the events leading to the liquidation.

The Sun reported the company’s major shareholders are D’Acampo, who owns 10%, and Individual Restaurants Group, which acquired a 75% stake in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

Liquidators have interviewed the directors and creditors as part of the ongoing investigation but said details could not yet be disclosed so as not to prejudice the case.

A report on the conduct of the directors has been submitted to the government, but this remains confidential.

Azets said it expects its total fees to be around £275,000 based on “all the work [they] currently propose is necessary” in the investigation.

Earlier company accounts show Gino D’Acampo Worldwide Restaurants had five Italian restaurant at the time it became part of Individual Restaurants Group in 2019.

However, five Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant sites were rebranded under Individual Restaurants’ Riva Blu brand in January 2022.

The celebrity chef’s separate My Pasta Bar business entered liquidation that same month, although at the time D’Acampo said it had “nothing to do” with his other restaurants.

The chef has since partnered with hotel groups Melia and Marriott International to open sites across the country.

Individual Restaurants was sold to Ice Acquisitions, which is controlled by the founder of supermarket chain Iceland, for more than £40m in November 2020.

Individual Restaurants and representatives for D'Acampo have been contacted for comment.