Post by Kev on Dec 15, 2009 16:01:53 GMT
Anyone hoping for the foul-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to get what's coming to him will have their wildest dreams come true. Ramsay's restaurant empire is in tatters, done in by ill-advised overexpansion, just as the economy was tanking.
The bellicose Brit's failure as a businessman is breathtaking to behold. "In the fall of 2008, his London-based Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd. breached the covenants on a pound;10.5 million [$17 million] loan and overdraft facility from Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.," according to Bloomberg News.
"In late December, Ramsay says, KPMG recommended that the company declare bankruptcy, fire hundreds of people and close all but its best-performing restaurants."
An Empire Spread Too Thin
For the hotheaded TV star, though, bankruptcy was unthinkable -- which is a pity, because bankruptcy would have been the smartest business decision he could have made. Ramsay could have restructured his debts and perhaps figured out a way to extricate himself from the mess he had created.
But recession or no recession, Ramsay would have gotten into trouble because he had spread himself too thin, between his TV shows on two continents and his cookbook writing. As he repeatedly tells hapless restaurateurs on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, being a chef requires hard work and dedication. But he seems to have forgotten even that lesson: Critics say the quality of his food has slipped.
Ramsay has let his ego cloud his business judgment just when restaurant owners must think clearly: Many high-end establishments have struggled, and quite a few have closed. Imagine the viewer reaction if it was discovered that three restaurants Ramsay "saved" on Nightmares closed anyway. It would be as if a real-estate mogul with financial problems somehow convinced TV audiences to let wannabe businesspeople serve as his "apprentice."
The bellicose Brit's failure as a businessman is breathtaking to behold. "In the fall of 2008, his London-based Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd. breached the covenants on a pound;10.5 million [$17 million] loan and overdraft facility from Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.," according to Bloomberg News.
"In late December, Ramsay says, KPMG recommended that the company declare bankruptcy, fire hundreds of people and close all but its best-performing restaurants."
An Empire Spread Too Thin
For the hotheaded TV star, though, bankruptcy was unthinkable -- which is a pity, because bankruptcy would have been the smartest business decision he could have made. Ramsay could have restructured his debts and perhaps figured out a way to extricate himself from the mess he had created.
But recession or no recession, Ramsay would have gotten into trouble because he had spread himself too thin, between his TV shows on two continents and his cookbook writing. As he repeatedly tells hapless restaurateurs on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, being a chef requires hard work and dedication. But he seems to have forgotten even that lesson: Critics say the quality of his food has slipped.
Ramsay has let his ego cloud his business judgment just when restaurant owners must think clearly: Many high-end establishments have struggled, and quite a few have closed. Imagine the viewer reaction if it was discovered that three restaurants Ramsay "saved" on Nightmares closed anyway. It would be as if a real-estate mogul with financial problems somehow convinced TV audiences to let wannabe businesspeople serve as his "apprentice."