Creditors of the Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner chains have voted in favour of a company voluntary arrangement that will precipitate the closure of 27 outlets.
KPMG confirmed that the CVA would go ahead after the vote passed the 75% margin required to push through the restructuring of Giraffe Concepts, the holding company for the two brands.
After the CVA, 27 of the 87 restaurants will close — 20 Giraffes and seven Ed’s — and another 13 will be subject to rent cuts. The closures include Giraffe outlets in Aberdeen, Brighton and Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Ed’s restaurants in Bromley and Glasgow St Enoch. It will not affect 17 franchised sites operating in locations such as airports.
Boparan Restaurant Group, which owns the two brands, is expected to inject fresh investment of up to £10m into the slimmed-down business as it seeks to restore its fortunes. The business last year made an underlying loss of about £3.6m from turnover down 8% to £61.7m
