Italian restaurant chain with 13 sites 'on brink of administration'
Italian restaurant chain Gusto is reportedly on the brink of collapsing into administration.
Sky News reports that Interpath Advisory is preparing a pre-pack insolvency, which is where the sale of a business or its assets is agreed before the administration process begins.
Sky further claims that Cherry Equity Partners, the owner of Latin American restaurant concept Cabana, would likely takeover the majority of Gusto sites - but warned job losses were still expected. The Mirror has contacted Gusto for comment.
Gusto has 13 UK restaurants including:
Alderley Edge
Birmingham
Cheadle Hulme
Cookridge
Edinburgh
Heswall
Knutsford
Leeds City Centre
Liverpool
Manchester
Newcastle
Nottingham
Oxford
Restaurant and pub owners have been struggling in recent years following the coronavirus pandemic and then the cost of living crisis.
Increases in the minimum wage and National Insurance paid by employers have also added pressure onto hospitality businesses. BrewDog announced last week that it would shutter ten sites, including its flagship branch in Aberdeen.
Its Camden branch closed on Friday, with the other bars closing from Saturday onwards. CEO James Taylor sent a message to all staff, explaining that the venues were no longer making money.
He said: "Following much consideration, we have sadly concluded that there is no realistic prospect of making these venues commercially viable.
"Keeping them open would put pressure on the wider business, making it harder to invest where we know we can grow. This decision is not simply a response to the challenging UK hospitality market, but a proactive decision to redefine the bar division's focus.
"This is not a decision we've taken lightly. But as we evolve BrewDog into a more focused and sustainable business, we've had to be honest about where we are - and where we're heading."
Meanwhile, Thai restaurant chain Busaba Eathai was brought out of administration last week as part of a pre-pack deal. It once had as many as 16 restaurants, but this was reduced to 12 following a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) - which is a way for a struggling business to negotiate with creditors - in 2020.
Joint administrator Neil Bennett said: 'Busaba has experienced tough trading conditions over the past few years, in line with the hospitality industry in general, including the negative consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and a substantial increase in utilities costs.
'The pre-pack sale has allowed us to transfer the business smoothly and has saved a long-standing London Thai restaurant along with hundreds of jobs."
Oakman Inns & Restaurants also recently announced plans to close six sites and transfer a further 12 after falling into administration.
Ross Connock, joint administrator at PwC, said: 'It's regrettable that six trading sites were not included in the sale, resulting in 159 redundancies. Our team of employee specialists are providing support to those affected during this challenging time.'
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