Gordon Ramsay plans regional restaurant expansion

The chef is considering sites in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham as part of the ‘next phase of development’ for his firm.

Stuart Gillies, chief executive of the Gordon Ramsay Group (GRG) told The Guardian: “There’s a great dining scene [in those cities] and we are just considering what the options are.”

GRG saw revenue rise 12.6 per cent to £50.3m in the year to 31 August 2015, after it opened two new Maze Grill restaurants and Heddon Street Kitchen​ in London.

However, the group also saw losses of £1m driven by a £4m legal bill relating to Ramsay’s dispute with Rowan Seibal, his former business partner at the Fat Cow restaurant in Los Angeles, which closed in 2014.

Planned growth​

The expansion has been on the cards for a while, with Ramsay announcing four ‘strategic’ appointments earlier this year.​

They include Charlie Glynn joining as people director from coffee chain Harris & Hoole, and David Kerr, formerly of private member’s club group Home House, as financial director.

GRG – which runs 29 restaurants worldwide and hold six Michelin stars – said the new team would focus on ‘refining’ its existing portfolio to offer ‘best-in-class’ dining experiences.

The planned regional sites would be the first UK Ramsay restaurants to open outside London since Amaryllis launched in Glasgow in 2001.

The venue gained a Michelin star seven months after opening, but closed its doors in 2004.