Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group has been forced to renegotiate a multimillion-pound loan after breaching agreements with its bank.

Gordon Ramsay Holdings, which acts for 11 of the chef’s restaurants including ventures at Claridge’s and the Berkeley Hotel, both in Central London, disclosed the breaches in its most recent financial statement.

The report, filed eight months late, states: “The group has breached some of the financial covenants within the facility and therefore the group has commenced renewal negotiations with the bank.” It is unclear whether the breaches were limited to 2007 or if negotiations are continuing. The company declined to comment.

Ramsay’s company recently avoided being caught up in the Icelandic banking collapse when it refinanced a £4.2 million loan with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander in May and was granted a loan by Royal Bank of Scotland. RBS provided a group overdraft and loan facility of £10.5 million, secured against the company’s present and future assets.

The group is one of thousands affected by turbulent economic conditions. Many companies have been threatened with closure because they cannot renew existing terms for their loans.

Celebrity chefs including Antony Worrall Thompson and Tom Aikens blamed the global financial crisis when their restaurant groups got into difficulties. Worrall Thompson closed four of his restaurants and kept another two open by putting up his own money.

Ramsay and his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, a director of the company, were warned in the directors’ report that “current economic conditions create uncertainty over the availabilty of bank finance in the foreseeable future”.

Jeffreys Henry, the company’s auditors, noted that discussions between the company and its bankers were “progressing positively”. The report, which notes that turnover and operating profits both increased in 2007, is the latest warning sign for the company, which was fined £1,500 for failing to file accounts on time. Last year Companies House took steps to prosecute the company because its 2006 return was more than a year overdue.

The company’s turnover increased £3.5 million to £41.6 million in 2007. Its operating profit was £3.3 million, an increase of £2.3 million.

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