A large York bar has shut suddenly.
Removers are this morning stripping out all the fixtures and fittings at the Turtle Bay on Little Stonegate.
YorkMix was told it closed last night.
The first indication that something was wrong came when notices were stuck to the door saying ‘We’re Turtley shut down’ and ‘Closed for Good’.
This morning a removal team were in the bar. Three vans had parked up outside and they were being loaded up with fridges and other assets from the bar.
Inside, there were empty, unwashed glasses piled up on the central bar.
One insider told YorkMix: “The staff all got sacked last night. So they had a massive party.
“The landlord increased rent to £15k a month so they have closed immediately.”
These details are unconfirmed. We have asked Turtle Bay’s owners for an official response.
The company has been in trouble. In June, the Caribbean restaurant and bar group announced it was restructuring under proposals for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
At that time, three restaurants were earmarked for closure, in Solihull, Walthamstow, and Middlesbrough.
A CVA is arranged to pay a firm’s creditors over a fixed period. If creditors agree, a limited company can continue trading.
Turtle Bay was founded by Ajith Jayawickrema in 2010. By March 2024 it had 52 sites in the UK.
Private equity firm Piper bought a stake in the company, but then sold it back to Jayawickrema in May 2025.
In January this year it reported a sales drop of 10% and a drop in profits. Sales fell to £84.3m, down from £93.7m the previous year.
In its full accounts for the 52 weeks to 30 March 2025, the loss before tax was £10.2m, compared with a profit of £1.9m in 2024.
The York venue has been removed from the Turtle Bay website, and is now marked as ‘permanently closed’ by Google.
