Gordon Ramsay closes his Fleur restaurant

One of Gordon Ramsay's flagship London restaurants has closed after failing to attract enough customers.

Ramsay and his business partner Marcus Wareing opened Fleur in July in St James's Street, to replace Petrus, which moved to The Berkeley hotel.

Wareing remained as Petrus's chef and after six months of struggling to fill its tables, Fleur has now shut.

One industry expert said the restaurant was not financially viable because it was "playing to a half-empty house" adding: "When Marcus Wareing opened Petrus at The Berkeley hotel, all the customers who were going to Fleur went there instead."

The restaurant's owner, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, blamed problems with renegotiating the lease on the site for the closure.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "I can confirm that Fleur has closed. The lease expired this January and Gordon Ramsay Holdings were unable to renegotiate a new lease in time."