THERE are fears for the future of 61 Chiquito restaurants, including the one at Rubery’s Great Park, after The Restaurant Group which owns them filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator for the chain.
The company predicts, in the financial year ending December 27, 2020, Chiquito Limited will achieve negative EBITDA although the firm stresses nothing has happened or confirmed at this stage.
Several reports in national newspapers have suggested some Chiquitos may not reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic but The Restaurant Group said it could not comment on specific sites.
If administration was to go ahead, around 20 Chiquitos would be unaffected but 61 are at risk.
A spokesperson for TRG said as it announced in an update to the stock market last month, Covid-19 had had an immediate and significant impact on trading across the group.
“We have conducted a review of the performance of our business divisions, with a particular focus on the expected future cash generation profile of each of our business units.
“The Group believes that both Food and Fuel Limited and Chiquito Limited will achieve negative EBITDA in the financial year ending December 27, 2020.
“As a result, the group has taken the very difficult decision to appoint administrators for Food & Fuel Limited and filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator for Chiquito Limited.
“The decisions have been incredibly difficult and we recognise the significant impact on all of our colleagues that are affected.
“We thank them for their hard work and commitment during these very testing times.”
