Glorious Group goes under

London-based restaurant company the Glorious Group has collapsed, Caterer has learnt.

Glorious Group ran three restaurants at the O2 - the former Millennium Dome - in Greenwich, south-east London, but they ran into trouble, and in November accountant Benedict Mackenzie was appointed as liquidator for the company.

The leases for the restaurants - Raan, British and American - have been taken over by Inc Group, formerly Greenwich Inc, which owns a number of local hospitality operations, including the Trafalgar Tavern, the Spread Eagle, Inc Brasserie and Inc Bar.

Frank Dowling, Inc Group owner, said: "We took on new leases for the restaurants in mid-November and have rebranded the British and American eateries as the American Bar & Grill and will continue to operate Raan under its current guise for the foreseeable future."

It is thought Glorious Group had overspent, both on the interiors of the venues and levels of staffing, and had been trading at a loss for some time. Glorious Group chief executive Iqbal Wahhab said: "There were cost overruns in the building of the restaurants which the group's backers were unwilling to meet."

Inc Group took on most of Glorious Group's staff at the restaurants, encompassing more than 100 employees, and paid them all two weeks' wages. However, a number of former employees contacted by Caterer said that Glorious Group still owed them outstanding salary payments and that they had not received their P45s.

Wahhab insisted that arrangements were in place to pay the employees. "Staff representatives have been told how to claim the money they are owed," he said.

Wahhab's Roast restaurant at London's Borough Market has not been affected by Glorious Group's liquidation, as it is owned independently.

By Kerstin Kühn