Franco Manca to undertake a CVA

The group cites higher payroll taxes, no rate relief, and higher UK VAT than in Europe as the reason.

Below is a statement from Fulham Shore.

Marcel Khan, CEO of The Fulham Shore, said: “Over the last two years under our current management, we have been making strong progress against several key performance indicators, with productivity, customer satisfaction, happiness ratings, loyalty and frequency improving significantly. However, even restaurant businesses that are doing all the right things from a customer and operational perspective are not immune to widely publicised pressures impacting the hospitality industry. This includes significant increases in NI and NLW in recent history, as well as a lack of business rates relief for the restaurant sector and disproportionately high VAT in the UK compared with Europe.

“As a result of these external cost pressures, we have to make sure that we are putting our business on a sustainable footing for long-term growth and development. This is why we have taken the difficult decision to undertake a CVA for Franco Manca, which will see a minority proportion of our restaurants closing where they are no longer sustainable in this cost environment.

“We are deeply saddened by the closures of a minority proportion of our restaurants, and will support our affected team members throughout this process in every way that we can.”