The restauranteur brought a corner of Italy to the town in 2021, but appointed liquidators on Feb 25 (Image: Getty)
A restaurateur who brought a corner of Italy to a popular Scottish town in 2021, has appointed liquidators despite welcoming over 4,400 diners in less than two months. Alex Kirkbride’s two restaurants, The Rav and Lupo’s, both on North Street, St Andrews appeared on The London Gazette website on Wednesday (February 25), announcing that the company, AKGN LTD, had entered Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL).
It said it had appointed Rikki Burton and Jasmine Baxte of Anderson Brookes Insolvency Practitioners Limited as liquidators on February 19. A second formal notice in The Gazette also confirmed the commencement of a Creditors’ voluntary “Winding-Up” on Thursday. “Notice is given that at a General Meeting of the Company, duly convened and held at the place and on the date given above, a special resolution was passed that the company be wound up voluntarily; and an ordinary resolution was passed appointing the Joint Liquidators for the purposes of the winding-up,” The Gazette notice read.
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The Rav closed its doors in August 2023 (Image: Instagram)
This comes after both restaurants shut their doors for the last time in recent years. The Rav (Swedish for fox) opened in 2019 and was described as a restaurant serving “contemporary dining served in a loft-style restaurant in the heart of St Andrews,” with Scandinavian-influenced dishes like Swedish meatballs alongside modern British plates like steaks and burgers.
Mr Kirkbride then poured everything he had made from The Rav into opening the sister restaurant, Lupo’s, which offered a new dining concept that was a “love letter to Italy“. Equipped with four Italian chefs and a Scottish and Italian head chef, the venue proved popular with locals and tourists, seating up to 80-120 guests a night.
However, according to the most recent financial statements up to May 31, 2022, on the Companies House website, AKGN LTD owed far more in short-term debts than it had in short-term assets. It had net current liabilities of £649,531, meaning the company was technically short almost £650k if all short-term debts were paid immediately. In 2022, AKGN LTD had total net assets of £373,151. As a result, the company accumulated losses of some £373k over time.
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Lupo’s then closed in December 2024 (Image: Instagram)
The company also received several compulsory strike-off notices from The Gazette, first in August 2024 and again in June 2025, both of which were discontinued. These notices serve as the forced removal of a company from the Companies House register, effectively shutting it down. It typically occurs due to non-compliance, such as failing to file accounts or confirmation statements, or because the company is deemed inactive.
Both restaurants took to social media to announce their closures, with The Rav posting on Instagram on August 12, 2023: “The fox of 80 North Street is almost ready to sing its swan song! We had a very merry 5 years under this roof – come celebrate a happy ending with us. Final reservations dates online, or walk-in & say hello”.
Lupo’s followed on December 11, 2024, writing: “Goodbye, Lupo’s! Final drinks and dinner services between now and Saturday 14 December. Then the wolf joins the fox in glorious hibernation. Book online or write to hello@thelupo.co.uk. Thank you to all those who have dined, drank and danced beneath the wolf’s gaze. We had a good time. We hope you did too. Alla prossima”.
The closure of both venues was met with sadness by locals, who commented: “Oh no, I’m really sorry to hear this. Good luck with whatever you have in store next.” Another wrote: “So sad to see this!”
The Express spoke to local businesses, Dune and T-Squared Social, who both confirmed the closures of The Rav and Lupo’s, respectively. Dune now occupies The Rav’s former site, while T-Squared Social is located next door to Lupo’s.
