Boparan acquired GBK for £6m

Boparan Restaurants acquired Gourmet Burger Kitchen for £6m as part of a pre-pack administration, according to documents filed with Companies House.

More than 600 employees are understood to have been transferred through the acquisition while 355 roles were made redundant. Of the group’s sites, 35 were sold and 27 were closed.

Former parent company Famous Brands announced shortly after the mandatory closure of hospitality in the UK earlier this year due to coronavirus that it would provide no further financial assistance to the group.

The lack of future financial support from the group’s parent company put significant pressure on the business to secure a new funding partner. Gourmet Burger Kitchen appointed Gavin Maher and Rob James Harding of Deloitte as administrators on 14 October.

Gourmet Burger King generated £65m in revenue in its 2020 financial year, down £10.5m from 2019, although its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved due to ongoing restructuring measures as a result of its company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in 2018.

Boparan's brand portfolio also includes the Cinnamon Collection, Fishworks, Carluccio's, Slim Chickens, Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner. It also paid £3.4m to acquire 31 Carluccio's restaurants out of administration in May after the chain struggled with funding.

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