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A POPULAR restaurant chain has reportedly been put up for sale – putting 70 locations at risk of permanent closure.
French-inspired brasserie Côte is being auctioned off by private equity firm Partners Group.
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The company is working together with Interpath Advisory to seek out fresh investors for the embattled restaurant chain, Sky News reported.
The chain has more than 70 sites across the UK, down from close to 100 shortly before it collapsed into insolvency five years ago.
About 60 of its remaining sites are thought to be profitable – meaning there is a risk of more closures.
However nothing has been decided yet.
Sources close to the more recent sale process said that Interpath was marketing the company based on last year’s turnover of over £150m.
“If we carry on with these trends and the situation doesn’t improve — and clearly Rachel Reeves’s statements are giving a signal to consumers that it is not going to get better any time soon – then I would see this accelerating,” said Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality.
“Unless there is a change of tack by the government, we are looking at 150,000-200,000 fewer workers in hospitality during the first full year of [employer national insurance contribution] changes.”
The Sun has reached out to Côte for comment.
What’s happening at Côte?
Côte has faced a series of struggles in recent years.
It fell into administration in 2020 after saying Covid lockdowns had a huge impact on the business.
The chain had reported record sales in the previous financial year, but said the lockdown caused liquidity problems.
Côte was bought out of administration by Partners Group in the autumn of 2020 in a deal reportedly worth £55m.
But its Limeyard and Jackson & Rye brands were not included in the deal, resulting in three sites closing and 56 redundancies.
Côte recently closed its branch at Gloucester Quays, marking the end of an era at the retail and leisure hub.
The restaurant opened at this site in 2017.
Another location in Hampstead, London, closed last year after 14 years.
What is happening to the hospitality industry?
By Emily Mee, Consumer reporter
RESTAURANTS and pubs have faced a series of blows in recent years.
The pandemic had already hit businesses hard as hospitality venues were forced to close during lockdowns.
Then they were dealt another blow when the cost of living crisis ramped up, causing customers to spend less on eating out.
At the same time they’ve been dealing with higher costs of things like energy, rents and supplies.
More recently they’ve also been hit by the Government’s hike in National Insurance costs for employers.
At the same time, the national minimum wage increased – making it more expensive to hire employees.
It’s led to numerous chains collapsing or having to close sites in recent years.
TGI Fridays collapsed into administration last year, although has since launched a huge comeback after being forced to close 35 restaurants.
Britain’s largest fish and chip chain, Deep Blue Restaurants, has also sold off five of its popular sites.
The brand owns popular chain Harry Ramsden’s.
Plus, dim sum chain Ping Pong has closed all of its locations across the country after reporting it had faced “significant disruption” due to the pandemic.
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