Restauranteur Richard Caring has stepped into the fray as a potential buyer for Corbin & King.
The owner of the Wolseley on Piccadilly went into administration last week after a falling out between its management team, led by co-founder Jeremy King, and its majority shareholder, Thai hotel group Minor International.
King, who has accused Minor of trying to “seize control of the company”, wants to buy back his company with finance from US investment fund Knighthead Capital, which has offered to repay £38m of loans provided by Minor during the pandemic.
However, Minor and administrators from restructuring firm FRP Advisory are said to have received 35 to 40 expressions of interest, including from Caring.
Minor is said to view Caring as one of the few people who could deal with Corbin & King’s landlords, including the Russian-born Belgian oligarch Vladimir Zemtsov, who has been in dispute with the company over rent payments for the Wolseley.
