Gordon Ramsay in court over unpaid tax debts
Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has been given just weeks to settle outstanding tax debts on two of its businesses, after being taken to court by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Ramsay’s company appeared in the High Court yesterday after the HMRC applied for winding-up petitions against four Gordon Ramsay Holdings businesses, Maze in Grosvenor Square, Plane Food at Heathrow Airport, The Narrow and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road.
The judge, Mrs Registrar Derrett, dismissed two of the petitions against Narrow Street and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, after hearing the businesses’ debts had been paid, but gave Gordon Ramsay Plane Food just 14 days for an outstanding cheque to clear, and Gordon Ramsay (Maze) Ltd 63 days to settle undisclosed payments.
'Short-term cash flow problems'
In a statement, GRH said: “In the summer Gordon Ramsay Holdings announced a restructuring of the businesses’ finances following short-term cash-flow problems.
“The company announced it was repaying debts, but it would be a process that would take several months. In the High Court this morning the judge accepted this was the position and dismissed two of the petitions on the basis the debts had been cleared.
“She also gave GRH further time to settle the other two debts. In one case a cheque is waiting to clear and in the other we are in the process of settling the account over the next few weeks.”
A spokesperson for HMRC said it was not policy to discuss individual cases under any circumstances, but admitted they had been pursuing GRH’s debts for some time.
“If someone owes us money there’s a lengthy procedure we follow before we take it to the high court,” she said. “Pursuing a business in any legal way is a last resort as it costs us money. We don’t make companies bankrupt or insolvent.”
Earlier this year it was revealed that Ramsay’s global restaurant business was £10m in debt, forcing the chef to sell off several of his properties, including the eponymous restaurant at the Trianon in Versailles, Gordon Ramsay at The London in Hollywood, and Maze at the Hilton Old Town hotel in Prague.
