A burger restaurant that closed in Oxford city centre owed almost £100,000 to the banks, accounts show.
Glut Ltd, which trades as Glut, was put into voluntary liquidation in January 2024 having been operating for around five years.
The diner, in George Street, opened in 2019 and enjoyed much success early on, having climbed to the top of customer review website TripAdvisor's restaurant charts within six weeks of opening.
READ MORE: Hammer-wielding man 'stealing' bike in town sparks police appeal
But a notice on the door suggested the landlords took control of the property at the end of last year.
The notice on behalf of Nuffield College said the lease had been forfeited and the premises "secured".
Elliot Green, liquidator at insolvency and company closure specialist Oliver Elliot, was tasked with winding down the company.
Sami Mahfouz (Image: Andy Ffrench)
In his accounts submitted to Companies House, he said Glut had accumulated debts to unsecured creditors totalling £100,568.
Of this, £3,508 was owed to company director and founder Sami Mahfouz, 30, who set up the business as a 24-year-old in 2019.
HSBC and Lloyds Bank were owed £49,000 and £47,000, respectively, the liquidator’s report said.
The fourth and final creditor is listed as Oxford Oils, a supplier of oils and collector of waste oils, based in High Street, Witney.
Oxford Oils was owed £1,060.
Meanwhile, Mr Green said he had been carrying out investigation work into Glut, which included a review of the financial information available and collecting third party information.
He said accounts for the year ending December 31, 2021 show the director’s loan account creditor decreased by £100,000 year-on-year.
“Given the director has informed creditors in that report the company ceased trading on September 30, 2021, the reduction in this debt at that point in time is a matter to consider if indeed it put a particular creditor into a better position,” he said in his report.
Mr Green added that enquiring with the Mr Mahfouz about this has not allowed him to “fully unscramble the position” with records aside from bank statements.
He added: “At this time, I do not appear to have a full understanding and breakdown as to how these have been reflected in the historic filed annual accounts.
“I have sought the cooperation also of the company's accountant which does not appear to have been forthcoming to seek to understand how they assembled and compiled the accounts.
“As a result, I have instructed Freeths LLP on a time costs basis subject to realisations, to assist me with the legal question of obtaining the accountant's assistance.”
When Mr Mahfouz opened Glut, he told the Oxford Mail about the “big investment” he made to bring the bar to the city centre.