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Coronavirus: Carluccio's falls into administration and will furlough majority of 2,000 jobs

Chefs  Michel Roux Jr, Giorgio Locatelli, Antony Worrall Thompson, Antonio Carluccio, Aldo Zilli  pose for a photograph during the Taste of London event June 20, 2007 in London, England. Photo: Getty
From left: Chefs Michel Roux Jr, Giorgio Locatelli, Antony Worrall Thompson, Antonio Carluccio, Aldo Zilli during a Taste of London event. (Getty)

Popular Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s has fallen into administration.

In a statement sent to Yahoo Finance UK on Monday 30 March, joint administrators Geoff Rowley and Phil Reynolds, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP, said they are urgently addressing all options for the future of the restaurant chain and deli, including mothballing – a rescue or a sale of the business.

They confirmed that a majority of the 2,000 workers at Carluccio’s will be furloughed, using the UK government’s Job Retention Scheme, as administrators assess available options.

“The directors made the decision to place the company into administration after a sustained period of challenging trading conditions, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the broader issues currently facing the UK’s retail and hospitality sector,” said administrators in the statement.

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“This meant the company faced significant cashflow pressures and as a result was ultimately unable to meet its financial obligations as they were due.”

Read more: Coronavirus 'will wipe 15% off UK GDP' in the next quarter

The administrators said that Carluccio’s had “set the standard for the premium casual Italian food scene in the UK” and that Ireland operations and its franchise business in the Middle East will be unaffected.

“We are operating in unprecedented times and the issues currently facing the hospitality sector following the onset of COVID-19 are well documented. In the absence of being able to continue to trade Carluccio’s, in the short term, we are urgently focused on the options available to preserve the future of the business and protect its employees,” said Geoff Rowley, joint administrator and partner at FRP.

“We welcome the latest update on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and look forward to working with HMRC to access the support it provides for companies in administration and their employees.

“As this fast-moving situation progresses we will remain in regular communication with all employees and key stakeholders, and will provide a further update in due course.”

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