Closure
In this section, we report on restaurant, pub, bar, café, and catering business closures across the UK, and the commercial, operational, and market factors behind them. From high-street exits and group-wide restructures to insolvencies, lease surrenders, and strategic site rationalisations, we cover the real-world impacts of rising costs, labour shortages, shifting demand, and margin pressures. We go beyond headlines to explain why closures are happening and what they mean for the wider sector. Whether you’re benchmarking performance or navigating tough decisions, we provide the context hospitality professionals need to stay informed.
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Feb- 2020 -27 FebruaryRestaurants
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall announces closure of Bristol restaurant
Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has confirmed he is to close his River Cottage restaurant in Bristol after seven years of trading. Fearnley-Whittingstall said the decision was “extremely difficult” but attributed it to “rising costs and challenging market conditions”, as well as the size and location of the site adding it…
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26 FebruaryRestaurants
The Restaurant Group to close 90 restaurants by 2021
The parent company of Wagamama and Frankie and Benny’s, The Restaurant Group, has announced it is to close up to 90 restaurant sites by the end of next year. The group said the closure will affect its ‘leisure portfolio’, which includes the Chiquito and Frankie and Benny’s sites, and follows…
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24 FebruaryRestaurants
The Restaurant Group expected to announce further closures this week
The Restaurant Group (TRG) is expected to announce further site closures later this week when it provides a trading update. According to the Mail On Sunday, TRG is preparing to close a number of its underperforming sites with many believed to be located at retail parks. It has also been…
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20 FebruaryRestaurants
Michael Caines’ The Coach House forced to close due to ‘structural fault’
The three-AA restaurant The Coach House by Michael Caines has been forced to close indefinitely after a “major infrastructure fault” was found at the hotel in which it is located. The grade II – listed Kentisbury Grange hotel announced the closure on its social media this morning. It said: “We…
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10 FebruaryComment
From market stalls to brick walls: how pop-ups are riding the bricks-and-mortar wave
Ka Pao With a name and menu that packs a punch, Ka Pao is Glasgow’s latest permanent resident. The new restaurant and bar features the same team who opened rustic Glaswegian site Ox and Finch back in 2014, a restaurant that has garnered much critical acclaim in the city. The…
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7 FebruaryRestaurants
Latino Restaurant ceases trading after 18 years
The Latino Restaurant, located on Chilwell Road in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, has closed its doors 18 years after first opening. According to Nottinghamshire Live, 19 months of tram works, which closed Chilwell Road, increased “competition from new restaurants opening in the area”. The restaurant announced the closure on Facebook and said:…
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5 FebruaryRestaurants
Hoppers announces opening date of King’s Cross site
Sri Lankan and Southern Indian inspired restaurant, Hoppers, has announced its new King[s Cross restaurant is to open on 11 February. The opening of the new site takes the portfolio of Hoppers restaurants to three sites in the UK, which includes Soho and St Christophers Place. The menu will feature…
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Jan- 2020 -31 JanuaryRestaurants
Bonnie Gull shutters Soho site
Soho-based seafood restaurant Bonnie Gull has announced its closure today (31 January), after three years of trading. Announcing the closure on Instagram, the restaurant said: “Sometimes great things too must end. This week we say goodbye to our beloved Bonnie Gull Soho after 3 glorious years of oysters, grilled fish…
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29 JanuaryBusiness Bites
British Airways gets flighty and Starbucks smells the coffee over coronavirus
The business response to the coronavirus situation, which appears to be developing into a serious crisis, continues apace today. British Airways today announced that it was suspending all flights between the UK and Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus originally broke out. In a statement it said: “We have…
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28 JanuaryRestaurants
Baba G’s closes first bricks-and-mortar site in Camden
Street food trader Baba G’s has closed its first bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Camden Market, after less than a year. The Indian-inspired burger restaurant opened its 50-cover site in Camden in May last year. A statement posted on its social media platforms announced the closure, and read: “Just a little announcement…
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