Gordon Ramsay lost almost £60m trade during the pandemic

Gordon Ramsay has revealed that the pandemic has cost his restaurant empire almost £60m of trade.

The chef told The Sun that he had initially thought Covid would be over "in a couple of weeks", but it had caused "utter devastation".

"In December we had £10m-worth of reservations wiped out overnight, and as of 19 March last year to 3 February this year we've suffered £57.5m of turnover down," he told the paper.

Ramsay runs 18 London restaurants, including three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and a further 17 worldwide.

It was reported in March that Ramsay's company had terminated the contracts of hundreds of staff members working across its London sites. It is understood that the company has since made use of the furlough scheme.

During a video call with chancellor Rishi Sunak last week, the chef said the VAT cut had been "pivotal" to survival, alongside the business rates holiday.

Filings for Gordon Ramsay Restaurants show that the group's turnover grew to £54.7m in the year to 31 August 2019, with a pre-tax profit of £15.2m.

The results, posted in September 2020, said the company was planning to open a further 50 restaurants in the UK over the next five years, as well as roll out the Bread Street Kitchen concept.

A small number of London sites are due to launch after lockdown under his Street Burger and Street Pizza concepts, including at Battersea Power Station.