Middletons steakhouse saved: Administrators sell chain to shareholders - safeguarding 159 jobs
A chain of restaurants has been saved - after the company’s shareholders stepped in to buy the firm out of administration.
Middletons Steakhouse & Grill, which has seven restaurants across the midlands and the east of England, ran into trouble as a result of rising costs.
On Friday, administrators Tim Bateson and James Clark from Interpath were appointed to look at the company and try to salvage its prospects.
A statement from Interpath said that Middletons had “experienced challenging trading conditions as a result of rising raw material and labour costs and fragile consumer confidence”.
It was these issues that led the directors to look at the options, including a sale or restructuring of the company - but there was no “solvent solution” to be found, and so the administrators were brought in.
After being appointed, the joint administrators sold the business and assets to a new group controlled by Middletons’ existing shareholders, which sees all seven sites - in Chelmsford, Colchester, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Norwich and Peterborough - continue to trade, and means that all 159 employees’ jobs have been saved.
Tim Bateson, director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “Hospitality businesses up and down the country continue to battle hard in the face of strong trading headwinds. Whilst these challenges proved insurmountable for Gastro Pubs Limited, we are pleased to have concluded this transaction which will allow the Company’s seven Middletons Steakhouse & Grill restaurants to continue trading, preserving the jobs of their loyal staff.”
Middletons Steakhouse & Grill trades as Gastro Pubs Limited.