Famous Brands' British burger chain GBK enters administration
British-based restaurant chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has entered administration, South African owner Famous Brands said on Wednesday, becoming the latest victim of brutal trading conditions in the face of Covid-19.
Administrators have been appointed and have assumed control of GBK and its UK subsidiaries, Famous Brands said in a statement, adding that options could include a sale of the business and its assets.
Shares in Famous Brands were down 2.5% at 1154 GMT.
Famous Brands bought GBK in 2016 but its contribution to group profitability has taken longer than the company had expected, hampered by pressure on consumer spending as well as high property rates, increased input costs and a highly competitive restaurant market.
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved a challenge too far for the burger chain with 67 restaurants across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Famous Brands said in April that it would not provide further financial support for GBK because of uncertainty over when restaurants would reopen after the UK coronavirus lockdown imposed the previous month.
GBK reopened 37 of its 62 UK stores for full service by Aug. 13 and one of its five stores in Ireland.
Its UK sales for the 26 weeks to Aug. 27 were down a little more than 66% in sterling terms, Famous Brands said in a September trading statement.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation