Gordon Ramsay Holdings puts Melbourne restaurants into liquidation

Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has put its two Australian restaurants, Maze and Maze Grill, into liquidation.

Located at the Crown Metropol hotel in Melbourne, GRH's first ventures down under opened in February last year, with chef de cuisine Josh Emett at their helm.

However, Emett left the restaurants less than a year after their launch, along with general manager Enda Cunningham.

GRH has now confirmed that it has put both restaurants into liquidation, meaning the company now only has two overseas Maze restaurants left - at the London Hotel in New York and in Doha in Qatar. It previously ran a Maze in Prague as well as in Cape Town.

A spokeswoman for the group said the move came after recent management changes following the sacking of former chief executive Chris Hutcheson.

"Since the recent change in management at GRH, we have been conducting business reviews of all our group operations both here and abroad, and unfortunately it concluded that the business was not sustainable," she said.

"It is no secret that the industry as a whole has been affected by the economic downturn and GRH has been consolidating and strengthening viable operations to help take the business to the next level."

However, GRH insisted that the liquidation of its Australian business was no reflection on the company's future prospects.

"The successful reopening of the Savoy Grill at the end of last year and the soon-to-be opened Bread Street Kitchen in St Pauls, in September is testament to the group's confidence in the future," the spokeswoman added.

Gordon Ramsay opened a new restaurant in Canada earlier this month, Laurier Gordon Ramsay in Montreal, and also confirmed he was in talks about working with iconic Las Vegas hotel Caesars Palace.

Gordon Ramsay opens in Canada and confirms Las Vegas discussions >>

Josh Emett leaves Gordon Ramsay's Maze in Melbourne >>

Gordon Ramsay's Cape Town Maze has closed >>

Gordon Ramsay Holdings hands back control of Maze Prague >>

By Kerstin Kühn

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