Debts revealed at Michelin-starred restaurant backed by Gary Neville

The company behind a Michelin-starred restaurant backed by Gary Neville that closed last year owed almost £1m as it entered liquidation, it has been revealed.

The restaurant, called The Man Behind The Curtain, was located in Leeds and run by chef Michael O’Hare.

It was awarded a Michelin star in October 2015, three AA Rosettes in 2016, and attracted investment from Gary Neville.

However, The Man Behind The Curtain closed at the end of 2023 and O’Hare has since opened a new restaurant in the city, Psycho Sandbar.

Now, newly-filed documents with Companies House have revealed that the business behind The Man Behind The Curtain owed almost £1m when it entered liquidation earlier this month.

According to the documents, the firm has an estimated total deficiency of £993,684.

Its largest single creditor is HMRC which is owed almost £520,000.

The second largest creditor is Relentless Leisure, which is owned by Gary Neville, which is owed more than £366,800.

How Gary Neville became restaurant’s co-owner

Writing on LinkedIn earlier this year, Gary Neville said: “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 per cent of the restaurant, and 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 news comes after City AM reported in October how Hotel Football, which is co-owned by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, remains in the red despite achieving a record year.

The hotel, which is located in the shadow of Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, reported a pre-tax loss of £601,030 for 2023 after also making a loss of £630,158 in 2022.

The loss came despite Hotel Football’s turnover rising from £6.4m to £7.8m in the year, according to accounts with Companies House.

The hotel’s turnover from its rooms increased from £3.4m to £4.4m while its food and beverage earnings rose from £2.7m to £2.9m.