Two well-known city centre venues forced to close doors due to difficult trading

Manchester House

Two high profile Manchester venues have gone out of business putting almost 140 jobs at risk.

Up-market Manchester House and Artisan have both gone into administration.

Both venues are on Bridge Street in the city centre and were operated by the Living Ventures Group.

Manchester House, which was in the running for a Michelin Star, employs 74 staff and Artisan has a workforce of 65.

The luxurious Manchester  House cost £3m to fit out when it was launched in 2013.

Living Ventures Group said it had taken the decision to put both Artisan and Manchester House Bar and Restaurant into administration following a period of difficult trading.

Chef Aiden Byrne was bought in at Manchester House with the aim of landing Manchester’s first Michelin Star in four decades.

But last year he took a step back to take an advisory role at Living Ventures looking after several of their other sites.

He has been working at Australasia, Artisan and Grand Pacific.

Nathaniel Tofan was promoted to head chef at Manchester House – which has been open for five years.

Manchester House has won multiple awards since opening along with praise from the food critics.

It was considered one of the city’s best fine dining venues

Administrators Duff & Phelps have been appointed today and will be leading the process.

Only Artisan and Manchester House Bar and Restaurant from the Living Ventures portfolio have entered administration, having suffered difficult trading affecting the sector.

The Administrators and Management will be working with employees and suppliers to limit impact and disruption.

Jeremy Roberts, chief executive of Living Ventures Group, said, “Trading at Artisan and Manchester House Bar and Restaurant has been much lower over the summer, and like many other restaurants, we have struggled with balancing rising costs and high rents, together with localised access difficulties.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our brilliant and hardworking teams; we are currently contacting all affected employees and looking into available roles in other parts of the group.”

The remainder of the Living Ventures Group continues to trade normally, with revenues for the full year to March 2018 at £20m.

The group will focus on successful ventures such as Australasia, Grand Pacific and new projects such as Sunset by Australasia, which has had a strong start after launching in August this year.

Individuals with reservations at Artisan and Manchester House Bar and Restaurant will be contacted and offered alternative options at one of the other restaurants in the Group.

Gift cards issued by Artisan or Manchester House Bar and Restaurant will be redeemable at Australasia Restaurant until March 31st, 2019.

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