Blas Caernarfon has gone 'bust' owing £168,000 to the taxman

An award-winning restaurant has gone bust owing £168,000 to the tax man.

Blas in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, shut without warning at the end of March , with staff losing their jobs.

The restaurant in Hole in The Wall Street which was in the Michelin Guide and was North Wales Restaurant of the Year in the Food Wales Awards 2015 was run by head chef Daniel ap Geraint and wife Mari.

Scores of customers who bought vouchers have also been left out of pocket by the closure.

The Gazette official public record showed that a petition to wind up Blas was filed in the High Court by HMRC on Tuesday after a meeting of creditors at Parkin S Booth, liquidators, Chester, on April 18.

The petition should be heard at the High Court, London on May 8.

Appointed liquidator Ian Brown, of Parkin S Booth, said Blas owed £168,500 in unpaid taxes to the HMRC, its biggest creditor, and around £3,700 to local creditors.

Mr Brown said: “They’re bust. You still have to put the company into liquidation. The petition will now be withdrawn as they have gone into voluntary liquidation. The assets are minimal.”

Around 130 people have contacted the Blas Facebook with many asking for their voucher money back before the page was taken down, while e-mails to Blas bounced back.

Its owners had asked customers to post receipts for vouchers in an envelope with their address by April 9.

Yesterday a post on Blas’ resurfaced Facebook page said: “We can confirm that we will contact each and every one of you regarding the reimbursement of your vouchers before the end of the first week in May.”

Mr Brown, the liquidator, however did not hold out much hope that customers would get their money back.

He said: “The customers have lost their money unfortunately. It’s something we are trying to establish, how many are out there.”

Mr Brown said anyone owed money was welcome to get in touch.

He added: “It was a very popular restaurant with a very high reputation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t making enough money to sustain it.”

Customer Aled Owen Humphreys, from Caernarfon, is one customer who lost out.

He said he had £30 vouchers from work mates as a gift: “I know of such a lot of people who are in the same position. It’s not the money, it’s the principle.”

Another customer from Caernarfon added: “They said if you returned the vouchers (ours were for £29.50) then we’d be refunded. We’ve done that but haven’t received anything. Ours were an anniversary present. People have tried to contact the owners but messages were blocked.”

He said he knew of a friend who had lost £50.

The Daily Post has made repeated attempts to contact owners who have not responded to our requests for a comment.