Why are so many of Britain’s high-street restaurants closing? According to the Insolvency Service, the number of restaurant closures is up by a third this year. Some 1,123 restaurant companies have gone under since January. Mid-market chains have been the worst affected. This year Byron, Gaucho, Carluccio’s, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and Jamie’s Italian have all entered administration or credit agreements, having tried to grow too quickly. Sir Terence Conran’s Prescott & Conran group is also in trouble.
Some have blamed Brexit and millennials, the usual scapegoats. High rents and business rates, especially in central London, are unrelated to the referendum, but it is true that a weaker pound and uncertainty for EU nationals have hurt restaurant margins and made it more difficult to find staff.
Related: More than 500 Gaucho workers lose jobs as restaurant group folds
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