One of Britain’s most prominent restaurateurs is to leave the owner of The Wolseley after losing a battle to buy the company he founded from administrators.
Sky News has learnt that Minor International, which placed Corbin & King (C&K) into administration in January, paid more than £60m in an overnight auction to regain control of the group.
Its winning bid will trigger the departure of Jeremy King, one-half of the company’s founding team and arguably the best-known figure in London’s upmarket dining scene.
A spokesman for Minor said it was “now time to focus on growing the business in the UK and internationally without the involvement of Messrs Corbin and King”.
“We wish them success in their future endeavours and have no doubt that the outstanding Corbin & King team will build upon their legacy, taking it to new heights as we invest significantly in the company’s and our employees’ future growth.”
It insisted it had “the utmost respect for what they have achieved in the London restaurant business [and indeed] their continued involvement in the business was a critical factor in deciding to make our original investment”.
“However, as time passed it became clear that Mr King had significantly different views on the appropriate strategy for the business.”
In a message sent in the early hours of Friday morning to regular customers of restaurants including The Wolseley, The Delaunay and Colbert, Mr King wrote: “As you know, after our shareholder Minor Hotel Group appointed administrators over the Corbin & King ‘TopCo’, we were assisted by Knighthead of New York in taking on the debt that was at issue, with a view to fully acquiring the company.
“We left the appointed administrator in place in order to resolve our dispute with Minor by having a sales process to establish the new owners.
“The final stage of that process – an auction – took place in the early hours of today.
“We took part in the auction to try and buy the business and assets of Corbin & King that we didn’t already own, including of course all the restaurants.
“Regrettably, that attempt failed and Minor Hotel Group was the successful bidder, buying the entire business.
“As a result, I no longer have any equity interest in the business although for the time being, I remain an employee. I assume Minor will take immediate control of the restaurants.”
One source said it had been “inevitable” that Mr King would leave the business if Minor won the auction given the fractious dispute – including several legal battles – between the two sides which erupted in the last three months.
Dillip Rajakarier, group chief executive of Minor International, said: “Given the global appeal of Corbin & King Limited’s iconic portfolio of brands, it is no surprise that competition for the business was so strong.
“We are delighted that our offer was accepted, and we can now look forward to building on the existing strong foundations to drive growth in the UK and internationally.
“We have exciting growth plans for the business and are delighted to embark on this journey with our outstanding employees, the company’s key stakeholders, and, of course, our valued customers.”
FRP Advisory, which has been working on the insolvency of Corbin & King (C&K) since January, received two final bids for the business, with Minor understood to have paid more than £60m including the group’s debt.
Mr King fell out with Minor over the group’s expansion plans, and the Thai-based company has resorted to a string of legal actions in a bid to remove him from the company.
It accused Mr King of mismanaging the business and of refusing to place it on a more sustainable financial footing.
The accusations were rejected by Mr King, who recently won another important London court battle when a judge ordered Axa, the French insurance giant, to pay C&K more than £4m for a business interruption claim brought as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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