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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Aug- 2018 -22 AugustApps & Technology
Third London restaurant in two months closes with extraction issues
Soho restaurant Flavour Bastard has announced it is closing for a short while to faults with its air-conditioning equipment. The restaurant had already been closed since 6 August due to refurbishment, and it is expected to be closed for around three weeks. The closure comes just a month after Yotam…
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10 AugustBusiness
Villandry restaurant fails to find investor leading to closure of all London restaurants
Villandry has announced it has closed all of its London restaurants after it failed to find a buyer and rent doubled at the two sites. BDO were called in as administrators for the company after it failed to find investors to support rising rent and business rates. The chain’s outlet…
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9 AugustRestaurants
Prescott and Conran ‘was in £14m debt’ during collapse
Restaurant group Prescott and Conran owed £14m to its creditors when it collapsed, recent documents from its administrators Duff and Phelps have revealed. The chain fell into administration in June, resulting in the closure of its three remaining sites in London; Parabola in Kensington, Lutyens on Fleet Street and Albion…
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8 AugustRestaurants
Former The Ivy owner in bid to save Gaucho
Restaurant investor and former owner of The Ivy, Luke Johnson, has been revealed as one of the bidders seeking to save Gaucho from administration. The steak chain entered administration in July, leading to the closure of its sister chain Cau and according to reports Johnson is looking to purchase Gaucho…
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8 AugustGovernment
Restaurant boss banned for fake five-star hygiene rating
A restaurant owner has been banned from running companies for five years after he falsely advertised a five star food hygiene rating in a magazine. Rushan Ahmed, 31, claimed his Moza restaurant in Derby had been awarded a five-star food hygiene rating in three adverts he ran in a local…
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7 AugustBeverages
CAMRA: ‘Pub closures are making us all poorer’
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has said that UK pub closures are “making us all poorer” claiming that four out of five people in the UK have experienced a local pub closure in the last five years. As many as 80% of British people have witnessed at least one…
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7 AugustOpinion
Is the demise of restaurant chains a good thing for local independents?
The Gaucho restaurant group is the latest in a list of chain restaurants to appoint administrators or announce restructuring and branch closures. The news, including the closure of their 22 Cau restaurants follows on from the restructuring of Jamie’s Italian, Prezzo, Café Rouge, Byron and Strada. In my home city…
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Jul- 2018 -25 JulyRestaurants
Gunpowder founder to close Madame D and Gul and Sepoy restaurants
Harneet Baweja, founder of Gunpowder Holdings, has announced the closure of Gul and Sepoy, and Madame D restaurants in order to concentrate his energy on the Gunpowder group. He is due to open his second Gunpowder restaurant at One Tower Bridge in September and Custard bakery in October at the…
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18 JulyRestaurants
Gaucho on the verge of administration
Argentine restaurant group Gaucho is reportedly on the verge of entering administration as it has failed to secure a rescue deal. Sky News reported that the struggling chain has filed a notice of intention to appoint Deloitte as its administrator and could make an announcement as soon as Wednesday afternoon…
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Jun- 2018 -20 JuneBusiness
EXCLUSIVE: Starbucks says ‘no UK store closures’ after US announcement
Starbucks’ recent US store closures announcement “does not affect” its UK stores”, Catering Today has learned. The clarification comes days after the US business said it would increase its US store closure rate up to 150 amid weak sales forecasts that predicted and a falling share price. Historically the company…
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