The company behind TV chef Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant empire has been hit with a winding-up petition by the UK tax authority.

Upmarket Hotels & Leisure, which runs five British restaurants named after the former This Morning star, was served the petition by HMRC after a filing made to the High Court, as seen by City AM.

A winding-up petition is a formal legal process used against a company that owes money and is unable to pay its debts. It is a common tool used by HMRC against companies that have failed to pay tax bills.

The filing threatens to end Gino D’Acampo’s high street presence just more than a year after his restaurant business was saved from collapse. 

Upmarket runs four Gino D’Acampo restaurants – in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds – as well as Luciano by Gino D’Acampo on the Strand, London. 

The company fell into administration last year before being rescued by an unnamed buyer in a £5m swoop. The deal saved each of the firm’s 400 jobs.

The Manchester-based restaurant owner was established in 2021 and was previously majority-owned by hospitality entrepreneur Steven Walker and former JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill.

Gino restaurants owed £6m

The former JD chairman was owed more than £2.6m when Upmarket collapsed, according to administrators Begbies Traynor. Cowgill still owns more than half of the company, according to Companies House filings.

D’Acampo, an Italian chef and TV personality, came to prominence following his appearance on reality show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here in 2009. He later authored a number of cookbooks and presented a string of TV programmes, as well as making regular appearances on This Morning. 

Upmarket Leisure, which is registered as a separate company but is controlled by the same directors and registered to the same address, saw its losses widen to nearly £1.5m at the time of its administration, with total debts of almost £6m.

A spokesperson for HMRC said: “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.”

Upmarket Hotels & Leisure could not be reached for comment.