ONE of the founding restaurants of the Oxford Castle development has closed with the loss of 19 jobs.

The branch of upmarket burger chain Tootsies is one of 10 to be closed by administrators BDO, which was appointed yesterday, after parent company Clapham House withdrew financial support.

While 11 of the 21-strong chain were sold to rival operator Giraffe for £2.5m, the Oxford branch was not considered viable. BDO said it would discuss the sale of the leases of the restaurants with “any interested parties”.

Shay Bannon, BDO business restructuring partner, said: “It is unfortunate that, due to the economic climate and difficult trading conditions, a significant number of restaurants were loss-making, which threatened the viability of the whole group.”

Tootsies is the second eaterie at the Oxford Castle to shut this year following the closure of the Ha! Ha! Bar and Canteen in January.

Clapham House said it had provided “significant financial support” to Tootsies since buying the business in 2006, but had come to the conclusion there was “little prospect” the company would generate a profit in the near future.