The collapse of the company running some of Sydney's favourite bars and restaurants has caught up some of the city's high-profile names as investors.

Former Ten Network boss Grant Blackley, the head of investment bank JP Morgan, Rob Priestley, and former Wallaby Steve Lidbury are among investors linked to the Keystone hospitality group, which has collapsed owing nearly $80 million.



Keystone, which runs venues throughout Australia such as the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver-branded chain Jamie's Italian, as well as Sydney staples Kingsleys, the Sugarmill, Cargo Bar and Bungalow 8, was placed into receivership late on Monday after lenders KKR Asset Management and Olympic Capital Holdings Asia called time on the business, which expanded aggressively nationwide in 2014.

Morgan Kelly, of Ferrier Hodgson, said Keystone had been "placed into receivership by a syndicate of lenders due to an inability to reach agreement with the board on key aspects of the Keystone Group's financial structure". The businesses are continuing to trade and Mr Kelly will try to sell them, either as a whole or as part of a break-up.

Buoyed by the success of its Sydney operations, the group eyed national expansion in 2014, borrowing $80 million from KKR and Olympic in a "financial assistance" deal to fund the purchase of Pacific Restaurant Group, which owned Jamie's Italian restaurants in Sydney, Perth and Canberra.