A well-known bankrupt restaurateur has said a debt of £15,000 is not his responsibility, documents seen by the Daily Echo reveal. 

Kuti Miah, the charismatic entrepreneur who ran Kuti's Brasserie in the city for decades, is being pursued over an unpaid bill for refurbishing the Grade II listed restaurant building at The Royal Pier, which the business moved into in 2018.

A recent county court case brought by painter and decorator Wayne Holbrook, of Design Dec, will go no further after the court heard that due to being declared bankrupt Mr Miah 'does not legally exist'.

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Mr Holbrook, who has been chasing payments, which now with interest and legal costs add up to more than £25,000, since the 2021 spruce up, was told to attempt to get his money back through the bankruptcy team. 

But, following the case, at Southampton's county court in February, District Judge Victoria Goodfellow ordered that defence papers be released to the Daily Echo.

They claim the monies are owed to Mr Holbrook by Joytun Bari Ltd (JBL), which at the time operated Kuti's Brasserie and is now in liquidation. 

The defence document said: "Any sums owed to the claimant are owed by JBL and not the defendant personally. 

"Any instructions regarding works at Kuti's Brasserie that were provided to the claimant was in his capacity as director or JBL and the defendant has no liability to the claimant."

(Image: Newsquest) It goes on to say that 'the claim is denied in its entirety' and 'no monies are owed to the claimant by the defendant'.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Holbrook described Mr Miah’s actions as “legalised robbery” and said his "experience stands as a warning to other small companies to not get involved with Kuti."

Mr Miah did not appear at court.

Nor did he attend a previous hearing at which he was ordered to pay around £20,000 in court costs for Blaze Construction boss Eugene Broderick who loaned him hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years. 

Mr Miah petitioned for his own bankruptcy in August 2024.

Joytun Bari Ltd went into liquidation in January 2023 owing £840,000 to creditors.