A HIGH street bakery chain has crashed into administration and closed all by one store.
Le Pain Quotidien has closed nine of its ten bakeries, in another fatal blow to the hospitality sector, according to CityAM.
Le Pain Quotidien used to operate nine bakeries across London and a single store in OxfordRex
The Belgian coffee chain’s single bakery remains open in St Pancras.
A note was posted outside one of the chain’s shops and read: “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.”
But because the St Pancras site is owned by its sister company SPQ Holdings Limited it will not be impacted and remain open.
But the other seven stores located in the following locations have closed for good:
The Westgate Centre, OxfordMarylebone High Street, LondonHyde Park, LondonMayfair, LondonCovent Garden, LondonSouth Kensington, LondonRoyal Festival Hall, LondonMonument, LondonParsons Green, London
Sarah Rayment, global co-head of restructuring at Kroll, told CityAM: “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.
It was founded as a single shop in Scarborough, Yorkshire, in 1885 and has now expanded to become the UK’s second-largest bakery chain behind Greggs.
It has over 160 bakeries and 12 cafes across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.
And is famed for its massive cakes and large range of sweet and savoury products.
The popular chain has closed nine locations including Scarborough, Berwick Hills, Skelton and Great Ayton in North Yorkshire.
It has also closed stores in Lincoln including Woodhall Drive, The Hykeham Green Shopping Centre, Alford and Sleaford, and Houghton in Sunderland.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on their spending due to soaring inflation.
When prices are going up, it squeezes households’ incomes, meaning people have less money to spend.
This is bad news for shops, restaurants and pubs.
We’ve listed all the shops closing down in July including Argos and Iceland.