The future of the French restaurant group has been secured following a sale of a substantial part of the business to Cherry Equity Partners, a recently-established investment platform led by Hush Collection CEO Ed Standring.
Under the transaction, 10 Bistrot Pierre sites around the country will continue to trade, safeguarding 394 jobs.
However, a further eight sites will close, resulting in 158 redundancies.
The administrators will be providing all available support to those impacted as a matter of priority.
“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,” says Nick White, CEO of Bistrot Pierre, who will continue to lead the business.
“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.”
This is the second time in five years that Bistrot Pierre has been bought out of administration.
In July 2020 the group’s estate was reduced from 25 to 19 sites as the result of a pre-pack administration deal.
Last year the group revealed it was trialling a more casual and better value sub brand called Pierre’s, which went on to establish sites in Newport and Sutton Coldfield.
Both restaurants, however, have closed as a result of the pre-pack sale to Cherry Equity Partners.
The transaction was led by Will Wright and Dom Pannozzo at Interpath.
“We’re pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which will ensure this popular brand continues to feature on high streets around the country,” says Wright, UK CEO of Interpath and joint administrator of Bistrot Pierre 1994 Limited.
“We wish everyone at Bistrot Pierre and Cherry Equity Partners all the very best as they build on this new platform for growth.”
Cherry Equity Partners acquired Latin American-inspired bar and grill Cabana earlier this year through a management buy-out.
“This investment marks our second acquisition in as many months, and underscores our deep commitment to the UK hospitality sector – an industry we’re incredibly passionate about and one we believe is full of opportunity,” says Standring.
“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.”
Bistrot Pierre celebrated its 30th birthday last year having been founded by school friends Rob Beacham and Rob Whitehead.
The pair opened their first restaurant, Pierre Victoire, together in Nottingham in 1994, which was later rebranded as Bistrot Pierre in 2005.