Worrall Thompson’s holding company, AWT Restaurants, has gone into administration, resulting in 60 redundancies.

The celebrity chef launched the company in 1997, but after the firm "experienced an unexpected but decisive fall in revenue across the businesses from September 2008", he was forced to seek rescue funding from the bank.

Despite the fact that five out the seven businesses were profitable, his application was denied. "It makes me cry. It is just appalling… I am furious, to be honest, that the banks didn’t support me," he told the Mail on Sunday.

He adds that he could have raised the necessary finance by offering up his family home as guarantee, but spurned the offer as the risk involved was "horrendous".

"I am getting to an age where I can’t afford to lose my house," he added.

Worrall Thompson retains three of his investments: the Windsor Grill in Berkshire, Kew Grill in Richmond and Windsor Larder, a delicatessen.

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