One of Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant companies has been unable to compensate former employees after incurring losses of more than £5 million.
Since 2009, the 47-year-old celebrity chef has been a regular on ITV’s breakfast show This Morning, as well as presenting series such as There’s No Taste Like Home, Let’s Do Lunch, Gino’s Italian Escape, and Gordon, Gino & Fred: Road Trip.
Away from the cameras. Gino, who was born in Italy, also owns 11 restaurants in the United Kingdom, co-owns Bontà Italia Ltd, a supplier of Italian goods, has a ready-made meal line with Asda, distributes pizza ovens and has published many cookbooks.
However, one of his enterprises has struggled in recent years.
Gino liquidated My Pasta Bar in 2022.
The current debts include £4.8 million to trade creditors, £113,975 to HMRC, and £53,304 to personnel.
In a final account to creditors and members, the company said: ‘Overall, I can confirm that the realisations in the liquidation are insufficient to declare a dividend to the unsecured creditors after defraying the expenses of the proceedings.’
The business was wound up this week, with previous reports revealed 49 creditors were not paid, as reported by The Mirror.
The franchise, which opened in 2012 and served basic pasta meals, has locations in London’s Fleet Street, Leadenhall Market, Euston railway station, Camden, and Bishopsgate.
Following the closure of three London eateries, the firm was claimed to owe HMRC £113,000 and another £37,000 in worker salaries.
Last year, liquidators investigated the corporation for suspected missing corporate books and the actions of its significant owners.
The £150,000 inquiry was undertaken to determine why IRG (Old) WWR, previously Gino D’Acampo Worldwide Restaurants Ltd, owed millions despite being deemed solvent the previous year.
The Family Fortunes host, who makes an estimated £2 million per year, gained popularity on This Morning and won I’m A Celebrity. Get Me Out of Here! debuted in 2009.
In January 2022, he revealed how the epidemic had led him to close the doors of his modest chain.
‘We tried it for ten years and then Covid came around and I thought, “You know what? We have to close”,’ he said.
He also added closing My Pasta Bar had ‘nothing to do with any other business that I do’ and was a ‘standalone business going into liquidation’.
This morning airs weekdays from 9am on ITV1.