Boparan poised to take over Carluccio’s

Boparan Restaurant Group is poised to buy Carluccio’s out of administration, Sky News reports.

The Giraffe, Ed’s Easy diner and Slim Chickens operator is expected to finalise the takeover of the Carluccio’s brand, head office and around 30 restaurants in the coming days.

If completed as expected, the deal is anticipated to involve retaining around 900 employees, meaning more than 1,000 could face redundancy.

Before it went administration Italian casual dining brand Carluccio’s, which was led by CEO Mark Jones, had 70 sites.

Boparan is owned by the so-called “chicken king” tycoon Ranjit Boparan.

Carluccio’s has had a tumultuous last few years, and in 2018 underwent a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), enabling it to cut rents and close roughly 35 loss-making restaurants.

Until its recent insolvency amid the coronavirus crisis, the company was owned by Landmark Group, a Dubai-based company.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, restaurant chains including Prezzo, Wahaca and Bryon have called in advisers to help restructure their finances and explore options.

FRP Advisory, which has been handling the insolvency and sales process, declined to comment on Monday morning.