Neat Burger is to close half of its eight venues in the UK, citing the impact of rising rents, reduced footfall, and the cost of living crisis.
Mail Online reports the plant-based restaurant group, which saw losses expand last year, will close its sites at Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf, Oxford Street, and Westfield Stratford.
The company said it has only three sites beating sales vs last year and will focus on those that are still delivering growth.
It will also shelve the opening of a new venue within London’s O2, in line with its strategy to focus on smaller venues in high footfall areas.
In a press statement, Neat Burger said: “Neat Burger is committed to continuing to deliver the best plant-based dining experience to our customers in both the UK and abroad. As with any dynamic growing business, we’re constantly changing and adapting to the market and so as part of our ongoing strategy we are announcing the consolidation of four of our London operations.
“This decision is driven after an analysis of our consumer data and the shift towards hybrid-work leading to a natural decrease in footfall at some of our larger restaurants.
“The last four years have been a roller coaster for any hospitality business, we’re facing macro pressures that we’re seeing reflected across the industry, and the strongest brands are having to adjust their sails to account for increasing energy costs, food price inflation and compounding interest rates.
“In these times, it is essential to focus on what works best. We are concentrating our efforts on our best performing restaurants, refining our menu, and supporting our partnership with Deliveroo which has recently enabled us to double our delivery radius across the city. Whilst the UK still remains our largest market, earlier this year we opened our flagship New York location, and a few days ago we launched in Milan, Italy.
“This consolidation is a strategic step in our broader plan for future expansion where our model focuses on smaller stores across multiple cities. We believe that sometimes, taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward. We remain deeply committed to our mission of providing delicious, sustainable, plant-based dining, and are excited about our future growth prospects.”
Speaking to MCA last month, co-founder Stasi Nychas said the business was keen to explore expansion outside of London and eventually rival chains such as Five Guys and Shake Shack.
Neat Burger recently opened two new sites in August 2023 – in London’s Dalston and Boxpark Wembley – and continues to operate one site each in Dubai and New York, with plans to expand further in the UAE.
Its Dalston location has a grab-and-go offering, marking the beginning of a new concept for the business.
The Lewis Hamilton- and Leonardo DiCaprio-backed brand boosted its valuation to $100m in a funding round earlier this year, aimed at fuelling US expansion. New investors included boutique bank LionTree and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Neat Burger has also begun a partnership with members’ club Soho House, which will see its vegan items added to Soho House menus in the UK.
