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Ibérica shuts three sites
After it appointed administrators earlier this month, upmarket tapas chain Ibérica has been forced to close three of its five restaurants.
Ibérica’s troubles became apparent at the beginning of this month when the chain filed a notice to appoint administrators on 3 December, with RSM UK handling the insolvency.
According to a statement from RSM, three of Ibérica’s five locations have now closed, including the original site in Marylebone which opened in 2008. Also shut is the Ibérica site in Canary Wharf and that in Leeds, which was the only surviving non-London location. Prior to this latest spate of closures, in 2020 Ibérica shut its restaurants in Manchester and Glasgow.
With regards to the two remaining sites which have not been shuttered up, Camino Group, which is known for its Spanish-themed London restaurants, including Bar Rioja in King’s Cross, has, according to RSM, acquired the Farringdon Ibérica and taken an option on that in Victoria. This has resulted in the transfer of 40 members of Ibérica staff to Camino.
Camino Group co-founder Richard Bigg commented: “The locations and fit-outs are impressive and we have inherited some excellent staff who we warmly welcome into our group and keenly look forward to building the business together.”
While reasons for the Ibérica’s situation were not provided when the administration notice was filed, it has since emerged that the chain is another victim of the difficult conditions faced by the UK’s hospitality sector.
“Following a challenging trading environment post-pandemic, hospitality, particularly casual dining, has been hit with staff shortages, increased costs, and lower spending per cover, which all contributed to Ibérica entering administration,” commented Gordon Thomson, a partner at RSM. “We worked with the Ibérica management to find a solution for the Farringdon site and the associated staff; and we are working with the remaining staff to seek redundancy support.”
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