The popular Francesco's restaurant in Windsor is closed and shuttered - after the company that took it over last year went into voluntary liquidation.

It has marked a sad end to a new chapter in the longstanding Peascod Street venue's history that began optimistically last summer when new owner Richard Mathea took over, proudly announcing a whole new menu under the supervision of executive chef Marco de Simone and general manager Vincenzo di Monda.

He changed the name to da francesco and staged a spectacular launch that spilled out into the road on a beautiful summer's night.

But now the company Francesco Holdings Ltd has placed itself into voluntary liquidation.

Its lease agreement with the landlord of the property was not due to expire till March 2021 and there had been ambitious plans to refurbish the Windsor restaurant in January.

But problems arose regarding the company's 'sister' Francesco restaurants in Maidenhead and Marlow.

In a detailed report produced by the liquidators Kingston Smith and Partners signed off by Mr Mathea it is revealed that the company decided to abandon the lease on the Marlow restaurant rather than pay a higher rent.

The report states that the company had been relying on the Maidenhead restaurant to support the newly acquired Windsor restaurant while it was closed and refurbished. But the company was given notice by the landlord of the Maidenhead site, forcing it to close.

The report says: "With the loss of the two premises and Windsor not becoming fully established the cash outflow became unsustainable and the directors were left with no alternative but to seek financial advice. Upon speaking to Kingston Smith and partners the directors decided to place the company into liquidation."

This week Ian Robert, who is a partner in Kingston Smith and Partners - the insolvency practitioners handling the liquidation, said: "We are always sorry when an an established local business and meeting place has to go into liquidation."

He said the future of the restaurant site in Windsor would be up to the landlord.

It would be hard for a new leaseholder to get planning permission to change the use of the site which has been an established restaurant for 30 years - so it is likely that a restaurant will open again on the Francesco site.