Rare Restaurants has confirmed the closure of two of its London sites: M Restaurants in Victoria and Gaucho in Smithfield.
The steak restaurant group has said it is looking to optimise its portfolio, with new openings lined up for the Gaucho brand in Covent Garden, Liverpool, and Cardiff, amid plans to accelerate expansion.
CEO Martin Williams recently confirmed that the business has appointed Clearwater International to assess the group’s “strategic options”.
A spokesperson for Rare Restaurants commented: “Rare Restaurants continually monitors and optimises its portfolio. We have not renewed the leases at two of our sites – one in Victoria and one in Smithfield market – as they no longer meet our criteria [and therefore were closed last month]. With like-for-like growth across our estate running at 24% and three new sites opening this year, including Gaucho Newcastle this week and a further venue in Covent Garden, all our staff have been offered roles elsewhere in the group.”
