Crêpeaffaire sold in pre-pack administration

The dessert chain Crêpeaffaire has been sold in a deal which sees 66 of its 83 jobs saved.  

The business, which has sites in the UK, Kuwait, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, was sold on 14 January in a pre-pack administration.

Business advisory firm Quantuma oversaw the sale which resulted in Crepe Trading and Crepe Union buying the business for £149,000, according to documents on Companies House.

Crêpeaffaire directors Allen Kerslake and Daniel Spinach are also the directors and shareholders of Crepe Trading and Crepe Union.

Seven of Crêpeaffaire’s nine owned sites were sold to Crepe Trading.

Crêpeaffaire has since closed two sites in Chester and Westfield shopping centre in London.

As part of the deal, the franchise side of the business was sold separately to Crepe Union. 

Quantuma managing director and joint administrator Brian Burke said: “I am delighted to have achieved such a positive outcome for this well-established brand, ultimately preserving 66 jobs and its international footprint, with no disruption to ongoing operations. We look forward to seeing Crêpeaffaire achieve success in its next chapter.”

The business, which first opened in 2004, had been impacted by increased operating costs and inflationary pressure.

“This, coupled with historic debt levels, meant that securing new/replacement funding and investment was not possible”, said the administration documents.

In the statement of administrator’s proposal, the chain reported a loss of £158,500 for the year to 31 December 2023. Heavy losses continued into 2024 with projections for 2025 all set to being loss making.

The report states creditors (amounts falling due within one year) amounted to over £1.5m and a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan of £720,000 was also taken out in 2020.