Friday Five: the week's top news
- Gourmet Burger Kitchen is the latest restaurant group set to enter a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), with 17 sites expected to close. The group's South African owner Famous Brands said it was aiming to secure the "financial viability and sustainability" of the business after it made a £2.6m operating loss in the six months to 31 August.
- Gaucho has exited administration and outlined a plan to re-engage customers, including refurbishing its 16 restaurants and introducing a menu of lighter, less meaty dishes in a bid to widen its appeal. The company has already sold all the sites of its loss-making sister brand Cau.
- The eccentric Filipino chain Jollibee is planning to launch restaurants in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham after making its UK debut in London's Earl's Court last week. The group's president Dennis Flores told BigHospitality he could see the company becoming a "major player" on the UK's fast food scene after customers queued for hours at the London opening.
- Shareholders in troubled cafe chain Patisserie Valerie have told chairman Luke Johnson to hand the investigation in to a £40m black hole in its accounts over to an independent body or law firm. A source told The Times there are concerns the internal review is "not sufficiently independent".
- Redemption group, which bills itself as the "world's healthiest bar and restaurant brand", is opening a third location after crowdfunding £300,000. The vegan, gluten and alcohol-free restaurant will launch a flagship site in London's Seven Dials in December.
For more of this week's news, click here.
