Rishi Sunak's former boss at an Indian restaurant where he worked as a teenager has announced his business has gone into liquidation amid the cost of living crisis.
Kuti Miah, who runs the award-winning Kuti's Brasserie in Southampton, said rising inflation had made times "very difficult".
The company behind the restaurant - Joytun Bari Ltd - owes more than £840,000 to creditors, Companies House filings show.
Mr Miah, 62, who is a director of the company, said the business had been put into voluntary liquidation.
Filings show Joytun Bari Ltd owes £338,214.04 to HMRC, as well as more than £270,000 to Mr Miah himself, £40,000 to Southampton City Council and £40,000 to Barclays Bank.
Imran Brothers Ltd of Poole, Dorset, is also owed £46,000; Khosla Wines of Hayes is owed £34,000; Asiatic Limited of Barking in Essex is owed £20,000; Euro Foods in South Wales is owed £34,600; and Gandhi Oriental Foods of Barking is owed £13,000.
Mr Miah said he "loves his customers like family" and that it is "not easy to survive" periods such as the current cost of living crisis.
"I have been surviving for generations. The restaurant will remain open, people can still come and eat with us," he said.
"I have worked hard for 43 years, and now we are in a global crisis."
He added: "These are very, very difficult times, but I remain a positive person."
Mr Miah has known the Prime Minister since he was two-years-old. As a teenager, Mr Sunak worked unpaid shifts as a waiter at the restaurant in the Grade II-listed Royal Pier gatehouse "just for fun".
The restaurant has scooped a number of national awards, including being named best spice restaurant in the British Curry Awards.
