A RETIRED army chef is devastated at losing his pension money in a new business venture which has gone wrong.

Tony Beckett has spent the past 10 years dreaming of opening his own restaurant and was delighted to find a suitable premises in Andover, at the former George Inn site in George Yard.

But the 49-year-old father-of-four claims the landlords of the building, Faucet Inns, refused to pay to install utilities such as electrics and water.

Tony, who also has two step-children, told the Advertiser: “They pulled the rug from under my feet by refusing to pay to put in utilities into the building. It is their building and their responsibility.”

Tony, who has cooked for dignitaries across the world including royalty and politicians, was in the final stages of his plan to open the restaurant, called Urban Genie, and even had staff ready to start work.

He explained the unique concept behind his plan, which would have breathed life back into the former pub, which has stood empty for more than five years.

“It would have been a sandwich bar during the day with about 80 different sandwiches on the menu with a self-service sandwich bar and afternoon cream teas.

“In the evening it would have turned into a boutique wine bar serving cream teas with an alcoholic theme, so the jams would be made with liquors or the cream flavoured with botanicals.”

Tony has experience working in top restaurants, including Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in Bray, where he volunteered during leave from the army to gain experience.

The chef has lost around £8,000 of his pension and said: “It’s been a massive learning curve. I became emotionally involved, but I have been planning this for about 10 years.

“It’s always been my dream to do this when I retired from the army.”

A Faucet Inns spokeswoman said: “We are disappointed that this deal does not appear to be going ahead after all this time. We did issue a contract via our solicitors some eight months ago, and have been incurring legal costs from this date.

“We have been advised this week that Mr Beckett has now decided that the site is not financially viable.

“However, we have not seen any quotes or any financials to be sure if this is the reason, as we have had no details of such costs or proposals.

“He has had unlimited access to view the property and should have made his own enquiries into the total costs of getting his business up and running. As with all acquisitions, he should have had a budget agreed in advance with a detailed business plan.

“If he has not done this before, he should have obtained professional advice before entering into any agreement.

“Sadly it appears now that this has not been the case.

“We have as per the heads of terms completed the works required as we were advised that he had signed the lease.”

Tony remains optimistic his dream will become a reality and has found an alternative premises in Andover, but he needs a business partner to help fund the project after losing out financially this time.

“It would be an independent restaurant which isn’t too pretentious which gives a personal service when you come in,” he added.

The restaurant would have also given a boost to employment in Andover, with 12 members of staff recruited from the area.

“People are fed up with chain restaurants,” said Tony. “We want to show people that this is possible, but I’m devastated that it’s ended up like this.”