Gary Neville and BBC MasterChef star forced to shut restaurant with £1 million debt

Gary Neville has been "forced" to shut his and BBC MasterChef star's restaurant. Sky Sports Football pundit Neville’s Leeds restaurant has gone into liquidation with debts reported at £1 million – including £519,000 owed in taxes - according to the Sun newspaper.

The restaurant, called The Man Behind The Curtain, was located in Leeds and run by chef and BBC star Michael O’Hare. It was awarded a Michelin star in October 2015, three AA Rosettes in 2016, and attracted investment from Gary.

The Man Behind The Curtain closed at the end of 2023 and O’Hare has since opened a new restaurant in the city, Psycho Sandbar. Now, newly-filed documents with Companies House have revealed that the business behind The Man Behind The Curtain owed almost £1m when it entered liquidation earlier this month.

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According to the documents, the firm has an estimated total deficiency of £993,684. Its largest single creditor is HMRC which is owed almost £520,000. It reports £9,500 in estimated assets for creditors, a director’s loan owed at £500,000 described as ‘uncertain’ for payback, with fixtures and fittings – worth £152,973 also having an ‘uncertain’ value.

Banks are reported as being owed £14,000, with HMRC’s debt comprising two bills £119,090 and £400,194. Ex-England and Manchester United defender Neville posted this on LinkedIn seven months ago: “A few years ago I signed one of the most instinctive and incredible deals that I've ever done when I went into partnership with Michael O'Hare on “The Man Behind The Curtain” restaurant in Leeds.

"At the end of a meal I had at the restaurant, Michael presented me with the bill, but it wasn’t a normal bill, it was a bill that had a figure on it accompanied with a note that said this will give you 50% of the restaurant. From that moment on I was the co-owner of a Michelin star restaurant in Leeds!

"Fast forward to today and it's taken a brave and courageous decision for Michael to give up his Michelin star and open a new restaurant, Psycho Sandbar, that I went to earlier on in the week. It's a sensational restaurant with an unbelievable experience and a brilliant job from Michael and his team. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.”