{"id":125421,"date":"2026-09-12T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=125421"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:36:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T12:36:05","slug":"norfolks-fine-dining-restaurants-liquidation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/norfolks-fine-dining-restaurants-liquidation\/","title":{"rendered":"One Of Norfolk\u2019s Most Renowned Fine-Dining Restaurants Enters Liquidation Owing Creditors Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A historic Norfolk fine-dining restaurant<\/strong> has entered liquidation after its operating company reported debts of almost \u00a3390,000<\/strong>, while the venue continues trading under a new business structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restaurant Company Enters Liquidation After Rising Costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stoke Mill Restaurant Ltd<\/em>, based in Stoke Holy Cross<\/em> near Norwich, appointed liquidators this week after its directors said mounting costs had made it impossible to recover from historic debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Eastern Daily Press<\/a><\/strong>, the company\u2019s statement of affairs filed with Companies House<\/em> shows creditors are owed more than \u00a3389,000<\/strong>. The largest claim comes from HM Revenue and Customs<\/em>, which is owed more than \u00a3300,000<\/strong>, including around \u00a3157,000 in PAYE liabilities<\/strong> and \u00a3140,000 in VAT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s employees are owed almost \u00a350,000<\/strong>, while trade creditors, mainly local businesses, are owed more than \u00a337,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Andrew Rudd And Ludovico Iaccarino Explain The Decision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The restaurant<\/a> is controlled by chef patron Andrew Rudd<\/em> and Ludovico \u201cLudo\u201d Iaccarino<\/em>, whose father Rio Iaccarino<\/em> founded the venue in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Iaccarino said the decision to liquidate Stoke Mill Restaurant Ltd<\/em> was \u201cregrettable\u201d, but said the restaurant would remain open through a new company, Stoke Restaurants Ltd<\/em>, where he is the sole director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An investor, Rebecca Goodson<\/em>, provided \u00a3100,000<\/strong> last year in an attempt to support the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince Covid, the industry has been on the floor,\u201d said Mr Iaccarino. \u201cWe have been trying hard to keep it going and while business is reasonable, you just can never catch up from historic debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe trade is slower than ever. While business looks good from the outside, the costs have gone up astronomically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy electric has gone from \u00a31,000 a month to \u00a35,000 a month since Covid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe costs are escalating and you can\u2019t put the prices up because we\u2019re in sunny Norfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve tried our hardest, we\u2019ve pumped money into it and tried to do different offerings, but it simply hasn\u2019t been able to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen lots of other colleagues in the industry sadly close down. It\u2019s a very tough industry at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ludovico Iaccarino and Andrew Rudd at Stoke Mill Credit: Newsquest<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hospitality Sector Under Pressure Across Norfolk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The difficulties facing Stoke Mill<\/em> reflect wider pressure across the hospitality industry<\/strong>, where businesses have faced higher energy bills, labour costs and operating expenses since the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Iaccarino said the restaurant could continue if further savings were made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a business here if we can just make the cutbacks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the increased general, everyday costs have gone to a different level in the last six years. It’s more than quadrupled in most places, which is a crazy amount of inflation in such a short period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other established hospitality businesses in Norfolk have also faced financial challenges. Last month, Caistor Hall<\/em> closed after chef Mark Poynton<\/em> shut the Michelin-starred restaurant, while catering and events company Brasted\u2019s<\/em> entered liquidation in May owing almost \u00a34.7 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historic Stoke Mill Continues Under New Company<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The restaurant operates from a restored former mill on the River Tas<\/em>, a site with a long connection to Norfolk\u2019s food heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1814<\/strong>, Colman\u2019s<\/em> began milling mustard at the location before the building was later transformed into a restaurant by Mr Rudd and Mr Iaccarino in 2013<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The venue\u2019s sister restaurant, Store<\/em>, received a Michelin star<\/strong> in 2023 before closing in 2024. The former Michelin-starred space was later used for private dining and special chef-led experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new company, Stoke Restaurants Ltd<\/em>, is now operating the restaurant after Stoke Mill Restaurant Ltd<\/em> entered liquidation, with the latter\u2019s creditors listed as owed more than \u00a3389,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of Norfolk\u2019s most renowned fine-dining restaurants has entered liquidation after its operating company reported debts of almost \u00a3390,000, with owners blaming rising costs and ongoing financial pressure across the hospitality sector. The restaurant remains open under a new company structure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":125108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125421"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125426,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125421\/revisions\/125426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}