The failure of the company which used to run Norwich restaurant the House of Tiago and bar Mr Postles' Apothecary looks set to contribute to City Hall bosses having to write off almost £170,000 in business rates.

Business rates, known as national non-domestic rates, are a tax which is charged on properties used for business, such as shops, offices, pubs, restaurants and warehouses.

The amount owed depends on the rateable value of the property. Norwich City Council gets to keep 40pc of income from the rates to pay for local services, with 50pc going to central government and 10pc to the county council.

But the city council looks likely to miss out on just under £170,000 of those rates, because officers say two debts are now not recoverable.

Members of the city council's controlling Labour cabinet will tomorrow be asked to write off the business rates owed by Northern Star Ventures (Norwich) Ltd and Kingsrd Norwich Ltd.

Northern Star Ventures used to run the Tombland restaurant House of Tiago and the bar Mr Postles' Apothecary. But the company went into administration in 2016.

It went into liquidation in October 2016 and was dissolved in April this year. Although both the properties were bought, council officers, in a report to councillors, state: 'We have been advised that there will be no distribution of assets'.

Vegan restaurant Erpingham House is now based where House of Tiago used to be, while Mr Postle's Apothecary is still trading under different ownership.

The other business rate debt which officers are asked to write off relates to a company called Kingsrd Norwich Ltd, which was dissolved in January this year.

Officers state: 'We have been trying to trace the sole director Amba Patel but have been unsuccessful, the recovery officer Andrew Bone has reviewed the case and concluded that there is no prospect of recovering the outstanding monies.'

In the report, officers stressed: 'Significant work is undertaken by the revenues and benefits team to pursue all outstanding debt.

'However, there are debts where, despite this work, the debt is believed to be irrecoverable, often because the company owing the money has become insolvent.'

The latest write-off will be added to just over £140,000 which the council has already written off this financial year.