Longridge Restaurant Ltd, the company operated by Paul Heathcote, the North West-based chef and restaurateur, has been placed into administration, M&C Report understands.
It is thought that Longridge Restaurant Ltd comprises the recently closed Heathcotes Bar & Grill in Clitheroe, the eponymous Longridge eaterie, Heathcotes Brasserie, and the Olive Press, with the final three all based in Preston.
Leonard Curtis is understood to have been appointed to handle the administration.
The chef had built up an estate of 11 eateries in the region.
Last November, Living Ventures, owner of the Gusto and Blackhouse Grill brands, acquired the lion’s share of Heathcote’s restaurant portfolio.
The former two-Michelin-starred chef sold five of his then nine restaurants to the group, which was founded by Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts, for an undisclosed sum. These included three Olive Press sites in Manchester, Liverpool and Cheadle Hulme as well as Grado in Manchester and London Road in Alderley Edge.
The move came after Heathcote was forced to close his Liverpool flagship Simply Heathcotes and the Leeds branch of his Olive Press group of restaurants.
