Gary Neville forced to close Leeds restaurant with Masterchef star amid £1m debts

Gary Neville has been forced to close his glitzy Leeds restaurant amid rising debts.

The former star has embarked on a number of . One of those includes Leeds food spot The Man Behind the Curtain.

The restaurant was set up in 2014 and had been awarded a Michelin star having been run by chef Michael O’Hare - who had also appeared on Neville owned 50 percent of the business via Relentless Leisure.

But it has now been forced to close amid huge debts. According to a Statement of Affairs filed at Companies House, the business owed £366,848.

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£9,500 in estimated assets woes owed to creditors, while a director’s loan owed at £500,000 was described as ‘uncertain’ for payback, with fixtures and fittings – worth around £152,973 was also valued as ‘uncertain’.

Meanwhile, banks are owed £14,000, with HMRC’s debt detailing two outstanding bills worth £119,090 and £400,194. The accounts for 2023 of Neville’s restaurant venture are overdue, but the 2022 edition reported a £187,000 profit and reserves at £105,938.

Despite the liquidation, the restaurant is still running under a different guise. A post from Neville on LinkedIn earlier this year read: “A few years ago I signed one of the most instinctive and incredible deals that I've ever done when I went into partnership with Michael O'Hare on 'The Man Behind The Curtain' restaurant in Leeds.

"At the end of a meal I had at the restaurant, Michael presented me with the bill, but it wasn’t a normal bill, it was a bill that had a figure on it accompanied with a note that said this will give you 50% of the restaurant. From that moment on I was the co-owner of a Michelin star restaurant in Leeds!

"Fast forward to today and it's taken a brave and courageous decision for Michael to give up his Michelin star and open a new restaurant, Psycho Sandbar, that I went to earlier on in the week.

"It's a sensational restaurant with an unbelievable experience and a brilliant job from Michael and his team. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.”

The closure of the restaurant is Neville’s latest blow. The company behind Cafe - a venture between the former defender and ex-teammate - His Hotel Football venture also lost another £600,000 in the most recent financial year despite a record turnover.

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