HIGH Street bakery chain Le Pain Quotidien has closed all but one of its stores – is yours affected?
The bakery has shut nine out of its ten UK bakeries resulting in the loss of 250 jobs, after falling into administration.
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The Belgian coffee chain is known for its menu of fresh bread and pastries, as well as lunch and dinner menus serving classic salads and soups.
It now has only one remaining site open located at St Pancras.
The St Pancras bakery is owned by its sister company SPQ Holdings Limited so, fortunately, was not affected by the closures.
But the nine other stores in the following locations have now closed for good:
- The Westgate Centre, Oxford
- Marylebone High Street, London
- Hyde Park, London
- Mayfair, London
- Covent Garden, London
- South Kensington, London
- Royal Festival Hall, London
- Monument, London
- Parsons Green, London
A note to customers was posted outside one of the chain’s closed locations, City AM first reported.
It said: “The affairs business and property of the Bruncho UK Limited (trading as Le Pain Quotidien) are being managed by the Joint Administrators, Sarah Rayment and Philip Dakin of Kroll Advisory.”
A spokesperson for the bakery chain said: “We have explored every possible option to save the business but it has not been possible to rescue it.
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“Trading has therefore ceased and unfortunately all staff have been made redundant.”
The chain said that its flagship St Pancras store will continue to be its “anchor.”
But all is not lost as the bakery chain is already holding talks with potential partners in the UK for new franchises in cities, travel spots, and hotels.
Administration is when all control of a company is passed on to an appointed insolvency practitioner.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the business.
Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cashflow problems.
Administration can last anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or more.
But if the administration process can’t rescue the company or find a new owner, this usually leads to liquidation.
Liquidation is the process of selling all assets and then dissolving the company completely.
Sarah Rayment, global co-head of restructuring at Kroll: “Pressures on parts of the hospitality and casual dining sector have been well highlighted.
“Brunchco UK Limited which is predominantly located in London has suffered from reduced revenues as a result of decreased footfall in the capital, high rents and increased wage costs.
“As part of the next steps of the insolvency, we will be looking to realise value from the company’s leasehold interests and other assets.”
Le Pain Quotidien’s US arm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2020 – closing all 98 of its US stores.
But some stores have since reopened in New York City.
The news comes just days after Cooplands closed nine of its bakeries without warning as part of an “in-depth” review of the business.
The Scarborough-based bakery is the largest family-owned bakery chain in the UK, and the second-largest bakery chain behind Greggs.
Cooplands has over 160 bakeries and 12 cafes across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.
The popular chain was forced to close nine locations including Scarborough, Berwick Hills, Skelton and Great Ayton in North Yorkshire.
