BOSSES of a high-end London Restaurant which took a Barrow takeway to court over a trademark infringement said it had offered 'a substantial financial contribution towards the re-branding costs'.

Yesterday The Mail revealed a Chinese takeaway located on Dalton Road was contacted by solicitors acting on behalf of China Tang at The Dorchester claiming the takeaway business infringed its registered trademark.

A spokeswoman from the London based restaurant said: "China Tang approached the Cumbrian takeaway with the same name last year to make them aware of the trade mark infringement. 

"China Tang wanted to reach an amicable settlement with the takeaway, and presented a proposal for the business to rebrand, which included a substantial financial contribution towards the re-branding costs. 

"This opportunity was subsequently declined by the business, hence the case ended up in court, which ruled in China Tang’s favour.

"Although China Tang is located within The Dorchester, it is a separate entity and the hotel is not involved in this dispute."

The Barrow Chinese takeaway is currently in the process of re-marketing its business for when it will formally change its name to 'China Town Takeaway' from March 16.

Honglu Gu, who owns the family-run business which has been operating for over 10 years, said he was 'disappointed and upset' after putting all his hard work and effort into the business.

He said: "It’s such a high-end restaurant that we had no chance in winning our side.

"We have never had any interactions with the business in all of our years of trading.

"I don’t know why this has happened. The legal dispute was going on for two years. At the beginning I thought it was a scam.

"When I first named the restaurant ten years ago I never thought we couldn't use that name. We didn’t think of their reputation in regards to our small family-run business."