The founders of Eat, Niall and Faith MacArthur, are expected to step down as directors in the next week.
The MacArthurs have not been involved with the day-to-day running of the sandwich chain for the last five years but have remained on the board of directors for the troubled high street eatery, which is overseen by chief executive Andrew Walker.
In the year to 30 June 2017 like-for-like sales grew 5% but Eat brought in accountancy firm KPMG earlier this year to restructure the company. It closed 10 of its sites as a result to "offset challenging industry pressures" and focus on its London operations to avoid the company voluntary agreements (CVAs) that have plagued the high street this year.
The MacArthurs launched Eat in 1996 and will remain minority shareholders. The chain now has more than 100 branches in the UK, mostly in London. Private equity company Lyceum Capital bought the company from Penta Capital in March 2011.
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