Restaurant chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), which has five outlets in Ireland and over 60 in the UK, has been acquired from South Africa's Famous Brands by the UK-based Boparan Restaurant Group.
According to The Irish Examiner, the acquisition was a pre-pack rescue deal and will save 35 GBK restaurants and 669 jobs. However, 26 GBK restaurants are due to close, which will result in over 360 people being made redundant.
Administration
Famous Brands entered into administration due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and said in April that it would not provide further financial support for GBK due to uncertainty of over when GBK restaurants would reopen.
Boparan Operations
Boparan Restaurant Group's acquisition of GBK follows its purchase of 30 UK branches of Anglo-Italian restaurant chain Carluccio's in May.
Boparan Restaurant Group also owns the Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner brands in the UK.
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
