Lee Chapman's Teatro faces closure threat
Customs and Excise wants to shut down Teatro, the London restaurant and members' club owned by footballer-turned-restaurateur Lee Chapman and his wife, actress Leslie Ash.
A spokesman for Customs and Excise said: "A petition for the winding up of Teatro Club and Restaurant Ltd will be heard by the registrar of Companies Court on 11 December."
He added that Customs and Excise had the power to close businesses and seize assets to recover outstanding VAT payments, and that it was first in any line of creditors because it was recovering public money.
The Shaftesbury Avenue venue has been popular with celebrities since it opened in 1998 but has struggled to make money. In the year to March 2001 it made a profit of £2,570 on sales of £1.8m and carried forward debts of £667,172. A second Teatro, in Leeds, went into liquidation last year.
Chapman said this week that the 11 December hearing had been adjourned after further talks and that both sides were optimistic of reaching an agreement out of court.
