Bella Italia owner slashes losses after shedding 700 jobs June 25, 2025 Losses at the owner of Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Frankie & Benny’s have been slashed after shedding 700 jobs during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The Big Table cut its headcount from 4,236 to 3,531 in the 12 months to 27 October, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. Over [...]
Gino D’Acampo: Restaurant empire’s huge debts revealed before rescue June 9, 2025 The company behind TV chef Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant empire owed more than £11m as it collapsed into administration, it has been revealed. Upmarket Leisure Ltd, which controlled the former This Morning star’s venues, was served with a wind-up petition by HMRC in March and moved to appoint an administrator before being saved in a £5m [...]
Toast the City: Galvin La Chapelle brothers on Michelin success and 20 years in business May 31, 2025 In a new series celebrating the people and places nominated for our Toast the City awards, Adam Bloodworth visits Galvin La Chapelle, a Michelin starred restaurant in a Victorian chapel in the Square Mile Half of all restaurants that open in London close within two years. It’s a bleak truth, and yet the upside is that [...]
La Môme at The Berkeley review: a splash of high camp May 28, 2025 The Berkeley’s newest restaurant, La Môme, is best when it leans into eccentricity, but the food needs work, says Adam Bloodworth The Maybourne Group run the very plushest London hotels. Their newest, The Emory – London’s first and only all-suite hotel – charges north of a grand for an entry-level room. It opened last year [...]
Sexy Fish: Billionaire Richard Caring’s restaurant empire reveals losses May 23, 2025 Losses have been revealed for part of billionaire Richard Caring’s high-end restaurant empire, which includes the likes of Sexy Fish, as talks over a potential £1bn sale continue. The 2023 results for Caprice Holding, which also owns Scott’s and Bacchanalia, have only just been published, eight months after the Companies House deadline. The documents show [...]
Pizza Hut: The fortune owed by firm behind UK restaurants before rescue May 12, 2025 The company behind Pizza Hut’s restaurants in Britain owed more than £50m as it collapsed before being rescued, it has been revealed. Heart With Smart (HWS) was saved in January by an entity controlled by investment firm Directional Capital in a deal which salvaged all but one Pizza Hut location. Its new owner was the [...]
The Ivy owner sheds jobs as potential £1bn sale drags on April 28, 2025 The group behind restaurant chain The Ivy shed 300 jobs as billionaire owner Richard Caring continues to weigh a £1bn sale, it has been revealed. The business has only just published its financial accounts for 2023, seven months after the Companies House deadline. The results show The Ivy’s owner cut its headcount from 5,962 to [...]
Deliveroo exec: London restaurants can’t take more tax hikes April 8, 2025 London's restaurants can't take more punishing tax hikes, writes Deliveroo's chief business officer Carlo Mocci in today's Notebook.
Pizza Express orders up £55m in extra dough April 3, 2025 Pizza Express has secured a boost worth £55m after agreeing a refinancing deal which will significantly cut its debt. The restaurant chain has negotiated a £55m par debt paydown which will see its debt position reduced to £280m. As part of the deal, shareholders including Bain Capital Special Situations will inject £20m equity into the [...]
Bistrot Pierre: Jobs lost and restaurants closed as chain rescued March 7, 2025 Almost 160 jobs have been lost and a number of restaurants are to close after Bistrot Pierre was sold out of administration to a private equity firm. A vehicle owned by Cherry Equity Partners has snapped up part of the Nottingham-headquartered chain in a deal which has saved 394 roles and ten sites. However, eight [...]