Top TV chef’s restaurant chain collapses owing over £500,000 – bringing abrupt end to 33 years in business
A TOP TV chef’s restaurant chain collapsed owing more than £500,000 in debt.
Simon Rimmer’s vegetarian business Greens was in operation for 33 years before its two sites were forced to close this year.
Now, after the Manchester-based chain’s collapse, there is more than half a million pounds left in unpaid debt.
A document filed by administrator Begbies Traynor with Companies House detailed the amounts the restaurant owes to creditors.
HMRC is missing the largest chunk of the funds, with an estimated £458,873 in unpaid VAT and PAYE.
Trade creditors are owed an estimated £75,000 by the business, while consumer creditors, who paid for restaurant vouchers and gift cards, are missing around £35,790.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is also owed an estimated £13,164, according to the document reported by City AM.
Begbies said these lenders will remain unpaid as there won’t be enough money recovered through the administration process.
Simon’s first Greens restaurant opened its doors in Didsbury, Manchester in 1990, with a second opening in nearby Sale in 2022.
However, rising rents and running costs made the original restaurant “unviable” and it shut its doors back in January of this year.
Then, in September, the Sale restaurant also closed, marking the end of Simon’s chain.
Greens was one of the first vegetarian restaurants in Manchester and the first fully vegetarian one to be featured in the Good Food Guide.
In the wake of the closures, Simon described how “heartbreaking” it was to see the chain collapse.
He told Manchester Evening News the chain was the “cornerstone of his life” and its closure was the hardest decision he has had to make in his business career.
At the time of its collapse, the restaurant’s management took to Facebook to release a heart-wrenching statement.
It read: “We’ve done everything possible to make this work, but it is now clear the business is untenable.
“We’d like to thank everyone, team members and guests, who have been on the Greens journey with us.”
Fans of the restaurant were quick to express their sadness on the Facebook post about the closure of the Sale site.
‘END OF AN ERA’
One person commented: “So sad to read this, one of our Sale favourites.”
Another said: “No. End of an era. Loved both restaurants. So sad.”
A third added: “Oh god, this is so sad, my absolute favourite restaurant of all time.”
And another penned: “Oh no, that’s very sad. We have loved 12yrs of eating at Greens. Definitely the end of an era.”
Simon and his business partner, actor Simon Connolly, launched the beloved restaurant more than 30 years ago.
When Greens Didsbury closed in January, Simon told fans that due to increases in rent and energy bills, there would be no future for the restaurant.
He stated in a video: “Well this is a very sad day.
“After 33 years of running Greens in Didsbury, we’ve unfortunately had to close the door.
“Our landlords have increased the rent in the region of 35%, the cost of raw materials, the cost of heat, light and power, employing people and general food costs have meant the business has unfortunately become unviable so with immediate effect we have shut the door,” said the chef at the time.
He also thanked the staff who worked there along with suppliers, customers, neighbours and friends.
It had been listed it as one of the best UK restaurants for vegetarians in May 2019, and as one of the 16 best in Manchester in April 2023, by The Telegraph.