Carluccio’s left on the brink as coronavirus threatens to cause permanent closures
Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s is in danger of collapse as it warned it was facing permanent branch closures.
The company is working with administrators as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all restaurants, among other public venues, were to shut indefinitely a week ago in a bid to control the outbreak.
Administrator FRP said it was working with Carluccio’s to “consider all options” for the restaurant’s future.
It puts in excess of 2,000 jobs at risk.
Carluccio’s was already under threat prior to the pandemic due to the crunch in the casual dining sector and the firm’s tight margins.
It was forced to closed a third of its restaurants in 2018 as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) rescue plan.
A fall in consumer spending combined with increased business rates and the national living wage had hit the industry hard, with Prezzo and Byron making similar closures. Meanwhile, Jamie’s Italian fell into administration last year.
Prior to the government’s pledge to pay 80 per cent of workers’ salaries, the chief executive of Carluccio’s, Mark Jones, said it “was days away from large-scale closures” without state aid.
“FRP is working with the directors of Carluccio’s to consider all options for the company in the current climate,” a spokesperson for the administrator said.
The chain’s founder, former celebrity chef and restauranteur, Antonio Carluccio, died aged 80 in 2017.