Ruined restaurateur accepts settlement

An award-winning restaurateur who lost his business after faulty cooking equipment exploded in his kitchen has accepted a £48,000 settlement of his claims against the companies involved after a three-year legal wrangle.

Nils Hughes was forced to sell the King's Arms in Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire, in September 2000 after equipment blew up in the kitchen injuring two members of staff and sending the business spiralling into debt.

Tests carried out by the Health & Safety Executive found the equipment had been incorrectly maintained by Ken Wheeler Catering Equipment (Services), the company with which Hughes had a service contract.

The company was owned by businessman Ken Wheeler, who liquidated this and two sister companies before Hughes could bring legal proceedings against him. At the time Wheeler refuted claims that the explosion was due to his company's negligence, saying the responsibility lay with the equipment's manufacturer.

When Wheeler failed to settle the claim, Hughes was forced to sell the pub and go into voluntary bankruptcy.

Hughes has accepted the £48,000 settlement from Wheeler's liquidators, Bishop Fleming, despite putting in a claim of more than £180,000 against the two catering equipment and service companies that carried out maintenance work at the pub.

He has also paid more than £40,000 in professional fees and still faces large debts to his own creditors.

Hughes, who now works as a sales director for a food service company, said he hoped to buy himself out of bankruptcy next year. "I lost my business and my home and I'm still in bankruptcy. I can't pursue it any more. In the long term I hope to buy myself another restaurant, win some more awards and start again," he said.