£148 million Lottery winner Gillian Bayford closes her cafe

Gillian Bayford, who won £148 million on the Euromillions in 2012 with her then-husband Adrian, has closed down a cafe she bought with part of her Lottery winnings. She bought the cafe in July 2014 for a reported £150,000, but has now closed it down - citing 'unforeseen circumstances'.

The Sun reported that Sugar and Spice near Arbroath harbour was closed suddenly earlier this month, and that staff had been telephoned by Gillian's personal assistant, who broke the news. The Courier said a sign had now been put on the cafe's window informing locals of the closure.

Staff told the Daily Mail they have been banned from talking about it, because their work contracts have always started that they cannot talk about the business. Gillian said staff would receive payouts following the closure of the business.

It's not the first time Gillian has been forced to change her business plans. In 2013, shortly after the win, she and her husband Adrian were forced to close the music shop that they had pledged would remain open. There was nothing wrong with the business itself - unfortunately people used it to target the couple asking for money.

Lottery businesses

There will be those who seize on this news, and cite it as an example of where things have gone wrong for a lottery winner. However, it's worth bearing in mind that the cafe is just a small part of the £3 million investments Gillian has made since her lottery win, and they are not all guaranteed to be a roaring success.

There's no reason why lottery-winner businesses cannot succeed - and in fact many hundreds of them have thrived in the decades since the lottery was launched.

There are plenty of hugely successful businesses run by winners in almost any sphere you care to name. Here are five of the most unexpected:

Double glazing
Mark Brudenell won £916,915 in 1997 and used the majority of the money to set up a successful double glazing business.

Custom cars
Jamie Grieve from Lowestoft in Suffolk won £1 million in 2013 and used his windfall to fund his own business, which customises cars, bikes and interiors.

Farming
Meredith Davies won £2 million in 2004, and bought a farm where he breeds Welsh Cob ponies.

Cakes
Michelle Edwards of Martock, Somerset, used some of her £1.9 million winnings to set up her own luxury cake business.

Whiskey
Peter Lavery, who won £10 million in 1996 has set up a whiskey distillery in Belfast's historic Crumlin Road Gaol.