Gordon Ramsay Holdings finally submits 2007 accounts

Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has finally submitted its accounts for 2007, seven months after the Companies House deadline.

GRH had an eventful year in 2007, opening its first pub, the Narrow, buying the Devonshire, and closing the Boxwood CafT. The company, run by Gordon Ramsay and Chris Hutcheson, reported a nine per cent increase in turnover for the year ending August 31 2007, which they say is a ‘significant return to profitability after the effect of start-up costs in 2006.’

However, despite making a profit of £1.3m for the year, the pair admits to having ‘breached some of the financial covenants’ of its loan agreement that covers the nine UK establishments in the UK.

After increasing the group’s overdraft and loan facility from £4.5m in 2006 to £6.1m in 2007, GRH last year acquired a new £10.5m facility from Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been personally guaranteed by Ramsay and Hutcheson for £1.6m and £500k respectively.

The accounts, which may still incur a £1.5k fine for late submission, also show GRH to owe £4.7m to suppliers and £1.67m in corporation tax, an increase of £1.1m on the previous year.

While the company’s charitable donations were decreased by £12k on the previous year, the two directors received personal loans from GRH of £80k and £530k, a move that has been declared ‘unusual’ by one anonymous accountancy expert speaking with the Guardian​ today.

“It looks like they have expanded a lot, and done it by increasing bank debt in the UK at a time when the economy has problems,” he said.

The ‘profitable’ year outlined in GRH’s 2007 accounts may not be duplicated in those submitted for 2008, due on 30 June 2009, as a decline in consumer spending is expected to have an effect on the group’s turnover.