Sky News is today reporting that the Côte Restaurants are looking at plans for site closures, underlining the slowdown across Britain’s casual dining sector.
Côte Restaurants brands Limeyard and Jackson & Rye face site closuresCôte, which is owned by the private equity firm BC Partners, is seeking to shut down several restaurants which trade under the Limeyard and Jackson & Rye brands bought in 2016 by Cote. BC Partners acquired Côte Restaurants in 14 July 2015.
The plans, which have yet to be finalised, would affect a relatively small number of outlets, and would not include the main Côte Restaurants brand operation, which is reported to be performing resiliently in tough market conditions.
Sources told Sky that Côte had still to decide how to implement the changes to its estate but one potential option – an insolvency mechanism called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) – would probably be poorly received by landlords.
In a statement issued to Sky News, a spokesman for Cote said: “As a result of recent and well-documented headwinds for the restaurant sector, we have taken the decision to explore a range of options for a very small number of Jackson & Rye and Limeyard restaurants.