Taman Gang rescuers plan series of launches

The entrepreneurs responsible for rescuing Pan-Asian Park Lane restaurant Taman Gang from administration are planning to extend their burgeoning empire with a series of new restaurants.

Harold Tillman, owner of fashion brand Jaegar, and restaurateur Carlo Spetale already jointly owned the Notting Hill Brasserie when they purchased Taman Gang last month.

They are now at the point of completion in purchasing three other London restaurants, and have been invited to provide eateries in two department stores and a hotel in the capital, Caterer can reveal.

The restaurant deals will be completed in the next month and the others by the end of the year, according to Spetale.

The pair are also in negotiation to join forces with Tillman's son, Mitchell, who owns three Harold Morgan restaurants.

Expansion will not mean homogenisation, Spetale insisted. "One thing I am thoroughly opposed to is putting a corporate image on these restaurants," he said. "They are all very individual and we are adamant we want to keep them that way."

However, he did not rule out involvement in a corporate chain in the future. "We were very interested in a high-street coffee chain at one point, but in the end it wasn't quite for us."

Taman Gang, which was opened three years ago by the businessmen behind nightclub Chinawhite, went into administration in May after costs spiralled out of control.

By Tom Vaughan

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