Failed restaurant firm chased for Covid cash

Efforts are under way to recover Covid-19 support money given to a company that operated a bar and restaurant in Norwich, the BBC can reveal.

Norwich City Council said it had been trying to get back £25,000 paid to the business behind Rooftop Gardens, which has gone into liquidation.

The council said it had referred the matter to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), now the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), "for further action".

The sole director of the business, 50-year-old Antonia Hillier, could not be reached for comment.

The registered company listed on the restaurant's website is called Oceanfront GOS.

The council confirmed that it was a creditor and that the money provided was a business support grant.

The DBEIS had originally provided the money to councils to support businesses affected by Covid restrictions.

At the time it was paid, Oceanfront GOS, then called GC Rooftop Ltd, was listed by Companies House as dormant, with assets of just £1.

A council spokesman told the BBC: "This was a business support grant paid in 2022 to the company believed to be in occupation at the time.

"It later became clear that the business liability had changed. We attempted to recover the payment from Oceanfront GOS, but this was unsuccessful."

A DBT spokesperson said: "We carefully consider all Local Authority's reports of ineligible payments of public funds and review each case to determine next steps."

Oceanfront GOS's other creditors include HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which is owed £408,000.

HMRC said it could not comment on an individual business.

Public records also show county court judgments taken out against the company under its previous name in March 2023.

The amounts are still outstanding and total more than £17,000.

Last week the venue hosted workers from another company based in the same building, who had just been warned they were facing redundancy.

The BBC revealed how a food and drink tab of £3,000 had been run up, which was paid for by management.

The company in question, Atlas SEO, is entirely separate from the restaurant.

Rooftop Gardens, which is still trading and taking bookings, is situated at the top of the Union Building on Rose Lane.

The building was raided in September 2024 by HMRC officers investigating allegations of research and development tax credit fraud.

Two companies, Green Jellyfish and Kirby and Haslam, were targeted in an operation that saw 11 arrests at locations across the country.

That inquiry is understood to be ongoing.

The licensee of Rooftop Gardens is listed as a company called Harold and Sons Ltd.

Its sole director is Sotiris Christophi, 54, who is also linked to a string of companies occupying the building, which he also owns, and is understood to be the brother of Hillier.

He is also named as the person with significant control of Kirby and Haslam and internal company documents described him as a stakeholder in Green Jellyfish, which has since ceased trading.

The BBC has attempted to contact Christophi.

At the time of the raids, a spokesman for Kirby and Haslam and Green Jellyfish said they welcomed the HMRC investigation.

They added that they were "fully cooperating" and that "we have nothing to hide".

Last year, Christophi was also caught up in a High Court battle over the ownership of the Atlantis Tower in Great Yarmouth.

The judge said he had "likely" attempted to bribe someone involved in the dispute with a £50,000 Cartier watch, according to court papers.

At the time Christophi said he had always conducted himself "lawfully and with integrity".

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