Spudulike collapses leaving all 300 staff redundant

Spudulike, the baked potato chain, has collapsed leaving all 298 staff redundant and facing the agony of submitting claims for lost wages.

Administrators confirmed in a statement on Monday that all 37 of the Spudulike group’s outlets and head office were shut on Friday after a last ditch sale of the business fell through.

It marks the latest casual dining business to fold following a torrid time for the sector which, like wider high street retail, has been battling a toxic cocktail of weaker consumer demand at a time of higher costs.

It has seen the likes of Jamie’s Italian be declared insolvent, while others to find trouble and close restaurants have included Prezzo and Carluccio’s.

Spudulike is understood to have been in distress for some time and had sought a controversial Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in a bid to secure rent cuts from landlords.They opposed the plan due to the scale of the reductions being sought.

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.”

It has been reported that staff are owed at least two weeks’ wages – with some left even further out of pocket.

Mr Bennett later said: “All employees will be able to make claims for their wage arrears, together with accrued holiday pay, statutory notice pay and redundancy pay, from the government’s Redundancy Payment Service.

“We are currently working towards finalising the employee arrears information so that our instructed agents, Evolve IS, can prepare the employee claim calculations and circulate them to employees and the Redundancy Payment Service, helping them prepare and submit claims for any arrears of wages, statutory notice entitlement and redundancy pay.”

Majestic Wine sells retail arm for £95m to focus on Naked Wines

High street retailer Majestic Wine is set to sell all its stores for £95m as it transitions into an online-only company.

US private equity firm Fortress is buying the outlets, securing 1,000 jobs as it committed to keeping the 200-store network, which had a turnover of £300m last year.

“Majestic has grown through periods of dramatic change, I know we have the recipe to do it again,” said a Fortress spokesperson.

“We want to keep investing in our stores, in our people and our product – everything you can feel, touch and sip. After all, you cannot taste wine online.”

Majestic managing director Joshua Lincoln added that he had received “thousands” of emails from concerned customers when the retailer looked like it may close in March.

At the time Majestic said it would focus on its online division Naked Wines, which it bought in 2015. Money from the sale of Majestic will be used to cut debt and invest in Naked.

A separate sale of a freehold property to a separate third party buyer will bring Majestic’s full retail proceeds up to £100m.

“I am delighted that we have managed to secure an independent future for both Naked and Majestic Retail and Commercial, allowing both companies to pursue growth by focusing on their unique propositions,” Majestic chief executive Rowan Gormley said.

Major Majestic shareholder Gatemore Capital Management, which bought a stake in early 2019, welcomed the sale.

“Having worked closely with the board and management to ensure shareholder value is maximised, we are excited for the company’s prospects going forward as a standalone, high-growth and profitable business,” managing partner Liad Meidar said.

The investor had pushed for any sale to divide Majestic and Naked, believing the two woudl perform better independently of one another.

Gatemore also has a 3.8 per cent stake in Naked Wines.

Majestic said it had received multiple bids in June as it pushed to sell off its store network to focus on Naked Wines.

At the time it said Naked had “a greater potential for growth”.

Activist investor Elliott and private equity firm Opcapita were also reportedly in the running to acquire Majestic’s bricks-and-mortar business.