Gourmet Burger Kitchen's CVA gains creditor approval

Gourmet Burger Kitchen's creditors have approved a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) proposal signalling the closure of 17 sites.

Managing director Derrian Nadauld said: "We'd like to thank the landlord community, our trade suppliers and our restaurant teams for their support through a challenging process.

"With the positive vote on our proposal to restructure our property portfolio, we are now able to execute the final stage of our turnaround plan, which we are confident will position the business for long term sustainable growth."

The chain's owner Famous Brands appointed accountants Grant Thornton to pursue the CVA as Gourmet Burger Kitchen became the latest of a number of restaurant groups to use the restructuring mechanism.

The potential closures will impact 250 jobs and the company has said "every effort will be made" to redeploy staff should they choose. The closures will leave the group with a 68-site portfolio.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen recorded an operating loss of £2.6m in the first half of 2018.

Famous Brands interim results showed that GBK's like-for-like sales fell by 9.7%. across the six months. In response it recognised an impairment of £469.5m.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen recorded losses of £2.6m in first half of 2018>>

Gourmet Burger Kitchen seeking CVA with 17 sites earmarked for closure>>

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