Corbin and King to close St Alban restaurant

London restaurateurs Christopher Corbin and Jeremy King are closing their West End restaurant St Alban.

The duo's company, Rex Restaurants Associates, which also owns The Wolseley, has sold the site on Regent Street to concentrate on other projects in London and overseas.

St Alban, which serves a Mediterranean menu, will hold its last service at lunchtime on 24 December.

A spokesman for St Alban confirmed that the restaurant was closing. "We will hold our last service at lunch time on Christmas Eve," he said.

"The owners have sold the premises to new owners who will continue to run it as a restaurant but it will be a completely different concept."

Corbin and King, the former proprietors of Le Caprice, The Ivy and J Sheekey (now owned by Richard Caring's Caprice Holdings), launched the 130-cover St Alban three years ago with Francesco Mazzei as head chef.

Located at Rex House on London's Lower Regent Street, the Stiff and Trevillion designed restaurant took its name from St Alban's Street, which runs along one side of the building.

Corbin and King are planning to launch a new restaurant in London in 2012 on top of the proposed the Bishopgate Tower development in the City of London.

The duo have agreed to take over a 13,000sq ft site on levels 58 to 63 of the 288m high tower which is also known as The Pinnacle.