The "ultimate parent company" of the restaurant run by celebrity chef Kevin Thornton has been listed to be struck off the companies register over its failure to file an annual return on time.
The registered office of Thornton's Restaurant Ltd is at Portobello Road, where Mr Thornton based his restaurant before moving it four years ago to the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen's Green.
This company owns 80 per cent of Conted Ltd, which now runs the restaurant. The remaining 20 per cent is held by Mr Thornton and his wife Muriel.
Long-regarded as one of the most prestigious dining establishments in the city, Thornton's lost one of its two Michelin stars last January. It held two stars in each of the previous five years.
Companies Office records indicate that the strike-off notice was issued in the last week. Such a notice is a formal warning that the company will be struck off the register if an updated annual return is not filed within two months. If no filing is made within one month, the company's name will appear in Iris Oifigiúl.
While a company that is struck off cannot legally trade, the strike-off notice will be cancelled if a return is filed at any time in the next two months. In the meantime, the company is liable for late-filing penalties.
The latest abridged accounts for Conted Ltd show that it held €11,166 in its profit-and-loss account at the end of August 2005, up from €6,373 a year earlier. "The ultimate parent company is Thornton's Restaurant Ltd, a company registered in the Republic of Ireland," the accounts state. The "ultimate controlling parties" are Kevin and Muriel Thornton. The most recent return for Thornton's Restaurant Ltd, made up to September 2003, was filed in December 2004.
It is the practice of the Companies Registration Office to issue an eight-week reminder to a company saying its annual return is overdue. The office issues a fiveweek reminder after eight weeks if no filing is made. If there is no filing after a further five weeks, the office issues a statutory strike-off notice.
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