Curran’s shock £600 bill at top Mayfair restaurant… which City claims is good value for money

City’s vice-chancellor wined and dined his colleagues at some of London’s swankiest restaurants before claiming the costs back on expenses.

Paul Curran dined out 14 times during just nine months from September 2013, according to expenses data obtained by The Square. This included three visits to five-star luxury hotel The Athenaeum in February 2014 alone.

The high-end Mayfair hideaway, which is worlds away from the residential halls and flats where most City students live, houses the restaurant that appears to be Curran’s favourite eating spot for splashing the cash to impress his guests.

During his nine visits there, the vice-chancellor racked up an incredible bill of over £600 – more than enough to buy six bottles of the restaurant’s most expensive Port wine; a tipple way out of the price range of most City students.

The Athenaeum’s restaurant, which assures its customers that it is “not too posh or proud to make boiled egg and soldiers”, offers salads at £14, steaks at £32 and bottles of wine costing up to £150.

When questioned about the high-end restaurant, which is located almost four miles from Northampton Square, a university spokesman claimed: “The Athenaeum restaurant is a convenient, central location, and is of better value than similar restaurants nearby” – which is perhaps not such a bold statement considering its location in one of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods.

Another of Curran’s favourite hangouts is Exmouth Market’s celebrity hotspot Moro, whose long list of celebrity A-list customers includes Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Michael Gambon.

He spent more than £100 on a single meal there in January last year with colleague Rob Woodward – the chair of the university council.

But the Vice Chancellor, who earns a salary of £280,000 per year, has not only claimed back for meals enjoyed in London.

In September 2013, he was granted expenses for a number of meals while travelling to and from a Glasgow conference, and in May of last year, Curran claimed for food he bought while visiting the Dubai International Finance Centre.

A university spokesman conceded that “every two years the vice-chancellor has a business lunch or dinner with each council member to discuss university matters”, before quickly reassuring students that the vice-chancellor “pays the bar bill himself”.

This week, The Square is releasing a series of stories revealing shocking details of the vice-chancellor’s luxury lifestyle.

Yesterday, we reported how Curran racked up thousands of pounds in taxi expenses by taking journeys as little as half-a-mile long.

And on Monday, it was revealed that the vice-chancellor splurged £400 on one night in a Dubai hotel and has taken trips to Florida, Tel Aviv and Rio on expenses.

Tomorrow, we will report on how Curran has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on refurbishments at his £2.5 million mansion in Myddelton Square – and how just 16% of City students actually know who he is.

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