Casual Dining Group files for administration

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 19 May, 2020

Casual Dining Group (CDG), owner of high street brands including Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Las Iguanas, is seeking to appoint administrators.

The move comes at a time when the already hard hit casual dining sector has had to contend with shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, deepening the woes of many operators.

Some 6,000 jobs are at risk from across the group's dining brands.

According to reports from the BBC and elsewhere, the company said the appointment of administrators would give it “10 days breathing space” to consider all options for a viable restructuring.

CDG also said that this would protect it from threats of legal action by landlords while it looked to restructure.

The casual dining sector was in trouble before Covid-19 hit, with big high street names such as Jamie Oliver and Carluccio’s in crisis, as the sector struggled with rising rent, business rates and costs such as minimum wage.

A statement from CDG said: “As is widely acknowledged, this is an unprecedented situation for our industry and, like many other companies across the UK, the directors of Casual Dining Group are working closely with our advisers as we consider our next steps. These notifications are a prudent measure in light of the company's position and the wider situation."

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