Family restaurant chain reveals full list of 14 closures as it issues update on future
A FAMILY restaurant chain has revealed its full list of 14 sites that have closed as it gives an update on its future.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood said the restructuring plan is necessary to ensure the “long-term viability” of the business.
Tasty PLC owns the Wildwood chain of restaurants and also has locations under the Dim T brand.
It has confirmed to The Sun that it has closed 14 restaurants in total, 13 Wildwood locations, and one Dim T site.
A spokesperson for Tasty said that the restructuring plan was “in pursuit of operational efficiency and long-term sustainability”.
It added that while it understood the impact of the decision the steps were necessary to navigate the challenges in the industry and economy.
It said: “We are confident that the changes will ensure the long-term viability of the Company and will protect the employment of the majority of our staff.”
Below we have the full list of sites affected:
Full list of 14 restaurants that have closed
- Bicester
- Birmingham
- Brentwood
- Cambridge
- Chichester
- Edinburgh
- Kettering
- Kingston
- Ludlow
- Market Harborough
- Plymouth Derry’s Cross
- Skipton
- Worcester
- Dim T Loughton
This follows the announcement yesterday that it had plans to close 18 branches.
Tasty currently operates 43 Wildwoods and six Dim-T pan-Asian restaurants, as well as two non-trading sites and three sub-let venues.
The hospitality group said on Tuesday its financial performance “continues to be inhibited by a tail of underperforming sites”.
Tasty also announced it will enter into a new £750,000 loan agreement with Bet365 shareholder Will Roseff in order to fund the restructuring.
Bosses said they expect the plan will improve earnings by up to £2.1million by the 2025 financial year, largely through the restaurant closures and other cost savings.
The proposals are to be put to Tasty’s creditors before a court hearing expected later this month.
On Tuesday, Tasty added that it expects to confirm revenues of around £46.9million for 2023, up from £44million in 2022.
It also trimmed its earnings loss to £900,000 last year from a £2.7million loss a year earlier.
The group says it has made “reasonable progress” so far this year “despite difficult recent trading conditions”.
What else is happening in hospitality?
As with high-street retailers, many businesses in the hospitality industry are also struggling to stay afloat.
Since the pandemic, many restaurants and pubs have closed down and others have set about restructuring by closing down less profitable outlets.
One of the most recently affected is pizza giant Papa Johns which currently operates 524 locations in the UK across a mixture of owned stores and franchised outlets.
The popular chain has announced that it will be shutting down 43 stores by next month.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
In January 2023, Byron Burger fell into administration, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Also, Italian dining chain Prezzo revealed plans to shut 46 restaurants back in April due to soaring energy and food costs, putting 810 jobs at risk.
Just this week a restaurant run by the celebrity chef Monica Galetti and her partner David Galetti, announced it would be closing for good.
The last day of service for the restaurant will be April 16.
In January 2024 many restaurants just did not reopen after Christmas.
Marco Pierre White’s restaurant Mr White’s Steak, Pizza and Gin House, located in London’s iconic West End, closed indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Marco Pierre White‘s Steakhouse Bar & Grill in Cardiff also permanently shut.
Ex-masterchef finalist Tony Rodd was also forced to close his restaurant Copper & Ink earlier this month after he reportedly received a “terrifying” £80,000 energy bill.
What about retail?
As we previously mentioned the cost of living is taking its toll on everyone right now.
Big named stores are disappearing from our town centres and high streets at an alarming rate.
Retailers such as Body Shop, Wilko’s and Paperchase have all fallen into administration in the past year.
We explain in more detail about the problems facing the high street right now.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic, Snug and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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