Warring bidders in final effort to dine at London restaurants’ top table

The battle for control of some of London’s top restaurants, including The Wolseley, is expected to be settled later after administrators set a deadline for binding offers.

Sky News understands that FRP Advisory, which has been working on the insolvency of Corbin & King (C&K) since January, told interested parties that final bids must be tabled on Thursday, with an announcement likely before the weekend.

City sources said that Minor International, which forced the company into administration amid a row with its management, and Knighthead Capital Management, a US-based fund, were the two principal bidders to rescue C&K.

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It was unclear on Thursday whether other parties had also registered offers, although the London restaurateur Richard Caring said recently that he had withdrawn from the process.

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The outcome of the auction is likely to determine the future of Jeremy King, one of the company’s founders and widely regarded as among Britain’s top hospitality figures.

C&K owns sites including The Delaunay on Aldwych and Colbert on Sloane Square, and its restaurants have become popular over the last 15 years with celebrities and captains of industry.

Mr King fell out with Minor over the group’s expansion plans, and the Thai-based company has resorted to a string of legal actions in a bid to remove him from the company.

Knighthead is backing Mr King, and last month repaid the company’s £38m of outstanding debt.

Sky News revealed several weeks ago that the two sides had resumed hostilities when Minor launched legal proceedings against both Knighthead and Mr King.

Minor forced C&K’s holding company into administration in January, accusing Mr King of mismanaging the business and of refusing to place it on a more sustainable financial footing.

The accusations were rejected by Mr King, who recently won another important London court battle when a judge ordered Axa, the French insurance giant, to pay C&K more than £4m for a business interruption claim brought as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FRP and Minor declined to comment, while Mr King could not be reached.