Richoux and Villagio operator enters administration

Will Wright and Steve Absolom from KPMG’s Restructuring practice have been appointed joint administrators to Dining Street Limited, as well as its two subsidiaries Richoux Limited and Newultra Limited.

Between them, the companies operate 15 restaurants predominantly across London and the south of England under the brands Richoux, Zintino, Friendly Phil’s, Villagio and The Broadwick.

All of the Group’s sites had been closed for dine-in services since 20 December 2020 in line with the Government’s Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions, with a handful of sites continuing to provide takeaway and delivery services.

However, with ongoing uncertainty around when restrictions will be lifted and with the companies continuing to accrue liabilities, the pressure on the cash position became such that the directors took the decision to appoint joint administrators.

All 147 members of staff have been made redundant.

Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “The current plight of the UK’s hospitality sector cannot be underestimated.

"Despite the breadth of support packages available, the reality is that the latest lockdown measures have proven to be a hammer blow for many businesses which, like the Dining Street group of companies, continue to accrue creditor liabilities while seeing little to no revenues coming in.

"The Group had a number of popular brands and outlets, and so we are currently exploring options for a sale of the business and its assets. We would like to invite any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.

"We are also working with the Group’s employees as a matter of priority, to provide them with all the assistance they need in claiming monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.”