Beloved steakhouse chain saves ALL of its restaurants after teetering on brink of collapse
A BELOVED steakhouse chain has been saved from going bust and keeping 159 jobs alive.
Middletons Steakhouse & Grill has been sold out of administration, meaning its seven restaurants scattered across the UK can continue serving up dishes to punters.
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Middletons Steakhouse & Grill has been saved from collapseCredit: Alamy
The chain has received rave reviews for its meaty offeringsCredit: instagram/@middletons_colchester
Tim Bateson and James Clark from Interpath stepped in as joint administrators to the ailing chain on Friday.
The duo then successfully sold the business to a new group controlled by Middletons’ existing shareholders.
Middletons Steakhouse & Grill currently has seven locations, in Chelmsford, Colchester, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Norwich and Peterborough.
The business had been pummelled by soaring labour costs and dwindling credibility amongst diners.
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“Hospitality businesses up and down the country continue to battle hard in the face of strong trading headwinds,” Tim Bateson, director at Interpath and joint administrator, said.
“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.”
The chain began operations from its first restaurant in Middleton, Norfolk, in 2011.
NOT ALL GOOD NEWS
While the Middletons was given a hail Mary, the news was not as positive for one major high street pizza chain.
Pizza Hut could be sold just weeks after announcing 68 restaurant closures and collapsing into administration.
The potential sale comes after the chain’s American owner, Yum! Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, said it was reviewing its options following a period of weak performance.
The beloved pizza chain has struggled with declining sales, prompting Yum! Brands to take “action” and consider a possible sale.
In recent months, several other well-known restaurant groups have also faced major difficulties.
Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito, both owned by The Restaurant Group, have shut dozens of sites amid falling footfall.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
Prezzo has also closed over 40 branches this year, blaming soaring energy bills and food costs.
Meanwhile, Bella Italia and Café Rouge, owned by the Big Table Group, have undergone restructuring in an effort to stay afloat.
