On Thursday 11 March, London’s Sosho and The East Room were destroyed by an inferno in the early hours of the morning. The bars both belong to Jonathan Downey’s Match Bar Group.

More than 100 firefighters attempted to combat the blaze,  which left parts of London’s financial centre covered in smoke.

Downey said the venue, into which he ploughed £3m, had been left structurally unsafe and may collapse.

“Sosho and The East Room are no more after they were destroyed by fire on Thursday morning,” Downey commented. “Assuming our insurance claim is honoured, we should be back with something new soon. Rebuilding Sosho and The East Room may take a little longer…”

The two award wining Shoreditch venues will remain closed for the foreseeable future.