THREE of Lancashire’s top restaurants have been bought out of administration in a deal by celebrity chef Paul Heathcote.

Insolvency firm Leonard Curtis had been called into The Longridge Restaurant Ltd earlier this month.

The firm ran The Longridge Restaurant, Mr Heathcote’s flagship site, along with The Olive Press in Clitheroe, the Olive Press in Preston and Heathcotes Brasserie in Preston.

Mr Heathcote said that the restaurants in Preston and Longridge are now run through new companies PH Restaurants (Preston) and PH Restaurants (Longridge).

The move came after the restaurant in Clitheroe went out of business.

He said: “The Clitheroe restaurant closed on July 22, but the two restaurants in Preston and Longridge are still trading as normal.

“The branch in Clitheroe has never been profitable and we couldn’t make it work.

“There came a point where the other two businesses were supporting it on a week-by-week basis.

“We are happy with the way things are going in Preston and Longridge, but the losses were substantial from the restaurant in Clitheroe.

"We had to rectify those circumstances.”

Mr Heathcote said the three restaurants had been trading as normal and will continue to.

Last year Mr Heathcote sold five of his restaurants to Knutsford-based bar and restaurant group Living Ventures in a deal that included the Olive Press branded restaurants in Cheadle Hulme, Liverpool and Manchester city centre.