Spudulike, the baked potato chain, has collapsed leaving all 298 staff redundant. Administrators confirmed in a statement that all 37 of the Spudulike group’s outlets and head office were closed on Friday after a last ditch sale of the business fell through.
Spudulike becomes the latest casual dining business to collapse following difficult trading times for the sector which, like wider high street retail, has been battling a toxic cocktail of weaker consumer demand and rising costs.
Joint administrator Neil Bennett, from the business services firm Leonard Curtis, said: “We are very disappointed with the outcome after working for several weeks firstly preparing a CVA proposal, which was rejected by the group’s creditors, and subsequently pursuing the sale of all or part of the group’s business and assets with a number of prospective purchasers.
“Sadly a sale of the business and assets of the group on a going concern basis did not prove possible, following the last minute withdrawal of an offer that was close to completion.”
He added: “We are now focusing on seeking any interest in the group’s remaining assets whilst managing the impact of the closures on former employees, helping them prepare and submit claims for any arrears of wages, statutory notice entitlement and redundancy pay.”
There were almost 5 million fewer trips to full-service restaurants in the 12 weeks to March 24, compared with a year earlier, data from Kantar revealed. Sales in such restaurants fell by 6% in the year to March 24.
