- Leon has boarded up its site in Manchester Piccadilly and closed a site in Brighton on the city’s North Street a day after announcing it would be shutting underperforming and unprofitable venues after going into administration. The business, which operates around 70 sites in the UK, intends to emerge from administration following a Company Voluntary Arrangement early next year. At the time of the announcement, the brand said all its restaurants would remain open. While the company has yet to announce how many sites it could potentially close, some reports suggest the number could be as high as 20, which would be more than a quarter of its current estate.
- The fate of TGI Fridays in the UK has been placed in doubt yet again with its holding company filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators. Liberty Bar & Restaurant, TGI Fridays UK’s holding company, filed the notice on 5 December, just over a week after Sugarloaf, the global brand manager of TGI Fridays UK, revealed it had brought in financial advisory firm Interpath to explore strategic options for the American-style themed restaurant business. It has been indicated that all 49 of TGI’s UK restaurants will remain open during the Christmas period, as Sugarloaf aims to secure a future for the business.
- Former Sosharu chef Alex Craciun has returned to the London dining scene with a ‘boundary-pushing’ fine-dining restaurant in Fitzrovia, following a seven-year hiatus. Aces Foodcraft opened quietly earlier this month, drawing on the precision of Japanese cooking techniques honed during the chef’s time in Michelin-starred kitchens in Tokyo. The menu is billed as being entirely produce-led and deliberately avoids being tied to any single cuisine.
- The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has unveiled an £820m funding package designed to give the growing number of young people on universal credit opportunities to work. The scheme is expected to create around 350,000 ‘employment opportunities’ and include 55,000 government-backed guaranteed jobs in sectors including hospitality, construction and health care. Set to roll out from 2026, the programme aims to tackle the rising number of young people not in education, employment, or training, targeting areas of high need such as the east Midlands and Greater Manchester.
- The founders of Fink’s cafe group will be closing their Highbury restaurant and bar Saltine later this month. The closure, announced on Instagram, cited adverse trading conditions, and described the climate for small restaurants as being ‘tougher than Covid’. Launched by Mat Appleton and Jess Blackstone in 2023 following the success of their Fink’s café group, the duo teamed up with head chef Phil Wood to offer a menu of seasonal dishes led by provenance and sustainability, using whole animals from select farmers.