Red Snapper Events has become the latest casualty of the recession as the catering firm was forced to go into voluntary liquidation earlier this summer.
Damian Clarkson, managing director of Red Snapper, took the decision to liquidate the business at the end of July, following a “dark 12 months in a fool’s market.”
“It was with huge reluctance that we liquidated the business. Cost control was good and gross profits were strong, but not strong enough," he said.
“We were unable to renegotiate our leases and undercutting by our competitors brought it to a head.”
Clarkson described current trading conditions as a “tough time to be in business". "For every one that’s going under, there’s 100 hanging on by its fingernails," he said.
However, Clarkson remained positive and said he would be returning to his roots with a new venture, the London Kitchen.
He said: “I’m going back to the floor. I began my career in hospitality as a waiter and I’m extremely passionate about this industry.”
The London Kitchen, an incarnation of Red Snapper Projects, was launched mid-August.
Clarkson said it has lower overheads and is aimed at a different market, but it has retained most suppliers as well as “Red Snapper’s integrity”.
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By Janie Stamford
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