The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Restaurant will not reopen as group falls into administration
BELLA ITALIA: Casual Dining axes 91 outlets with 1,900 staff losing their jobs
A restaurant at Fife Leisure Park in Dunfermline will not reopen as its owner entered administration yesterday.
Casual Dining Group, which owns the Café Rouge and Bella Italia chains, has started the insolvency procedure.
A total of 91 of Casual Dining Group’s 250 outlets will close immediately and 1,900 of the firm’s 6,000 staff will lose their jobs.
Bella Italia, situated next to the Odeon cinema at Fife Leisure Park, is one of the outlets selected for immediate closure.
Administrators are seeking offers for all or parts of the remaining business.
The restaurant group previously warned it was on the verge of appointing administrators in May.
Joint administrator Clare Kennedy, of Alix Partners, said: “We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for all those associated with Casual Dining Group.
“Our immediate priorities are to assist those whose employment has been affected by today’s announcement and to secure a sale for the group in order to protect jobs and provide the group’s much-loved brands with a sustainable platform for the future.”
Multiple offers are reported to have been made for the business, but all of them envisage a reduced restaurant estate.
Casual Dining Group chief executive James Spragg said the administration process had started to “protect the business”.
He said: “After reviewing all our options with advisers, it became clear that we needed to take this action in order to protect the business and secure the best possible future for Casual Dining Group as we look to conclude a potential sale.
“We are acutely aware of our duty to all employees and recognise that this is an incredibly difficult time for them.
“Working alongside the administrators we will do everything we can to support them through this process with a view to preserving as much employment as we are able to.”