Administrators close down restaurant group
The heat on the casual dining sector has claimed another restaurant business after administrators were appointed at Square Pie.
50 jobs have been lost after the closure of five restaurants, which included its only site outside London at Grand Central in Birmingham.
“I am devastated that we couldn’t make the restaurants work in the current economy,” said Square Pie’s founder Martin Dewey.
A month-long sale process failed to find a buyer for the whole business. Square Pie’s wholesale division has been taken over by entrepreneur Oliver Wessely through a new vehicle, Beat Foods.
Dewey added: “The collapse of the restaurant business was something we were desperate to avoid, and we were hopeful even as recently as last weekend that we could save the stores and the jobs, but unfortunately the backing didn’t materialise in the current leisure climate.”
Byron and Strada are among the restaurant groups that have been forced to shut a number of restaurants since Christmas while Birmingham operators including Turners at 69 and Friska have also closed.
Rob Croxen, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “These are tough times for companies in the casual dining sector as operators continue to contend with rising input costs, fragile consumer confidence and the impact of the Living Wage.”
