French restaurant group Bistrot Pierre has been bought out of pre-pack administration, securing nearly 400 jobs.
Cherry Equity Partners, a new investment platform led by hospitality executive Ed Strandring, has acquired a portion of the business.
The deal ensures that ten Bistrot Pierre restaurants across the country will continue to operate, safeguarding 394 jobs.
However, eight restaurants will close immediately, resulting in 158 redundancies.
Administrators Interpath Advisory stated that they would be providing support to those affected 'as a matter of priority.'
The restaurants set to close include locations in Birmingham, Mere Green, Newport, Kidderminster, Southport, Preston, Leamington Spa, and Coventry.
Bistrot Pierre was previously sold out of pre-pack administration in 2020 and has faced ongoing challenges in returning to profitability since the pandemic.
Bistrot Pierre reported a pre-tax loss of £2.5m for the year ending 30 June 2023, with turnover falling to £24.4m from £28.4m the previous year, according to Companies House filings.
Nick White, chief executive of Bistrot Pierre, stated that the planned increases in National Insurance and the National Minimum Wage in April made it impossible for some of the chain’s smaller sites to remain operational.
White added: “We are delighted to have secured the future of the business and, with the backing of Cherry Equity Partners, now have a strong platform in place for future growth.
“At the same time, we are tremendously sad to see eight of our sites close. The impending increases in National Minimum Wage and National Insurance contributions will add hundreds of thousands of pounds to our costs, making our smaller locations simply unviable.
“We’d like to express our sincere thanks to our teams that have worked so hard to serve the fantastic customers that have visited these locations over the years.”
The deal comes two months after Cherry Equity Partners, supported by an international family office, backed the management buyout of the Cabana Latin American restaurant chain.
Ed Standring, chief executive of Cherry Equity Partners, said: “Bistrot Pierre is a well-loved Bistrot, bar and boutique rooms business with a great heritage, and we’re looking forward to working with Nick and the team to invest and grow the business.”
The transaction was led by Will Wright and Dom Pannozzo at Interpath.
