Upmarket tapas chain Iberica on brink of collapse

3 December 2024, 13:42 | Updated: 3 December 2024, 15:22

A group of Spanish restaurants headed by a Michelin-starred chef is on the brink of collapse after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators.

Sky News understands that Iberica, which operates a handful of sites in London and Leeds, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Tuesday.

RSM, the professional services firm, is understood to have been lined up to handle the insolvency.

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Iberica, whose parent Iberica Food and Culture will now have up to 10 days' breathing space from creditors, counts Nacho Manzano, a prominent chef from the region of Asturias in north-western Spain, as its head chef.

It opened its first restaurant in Marylebone, central London, in 2008 and has since expanded to other parts of the capital.

In 2016, it opened a site in Leeds.

If the company is unable to avoid administration proceedings, it will become the latest restaurant business to succumb to the growing financial pressures facing the industry.

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TGI Fridays was sold during the autumn in a pre-pack insolvency deal, while the operator of Pizza Hut's UK dine-in outlets is in the process of trying to seek a buyer.

Restaurant bosses were among hospitality executives who wrote to Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, last month, to warn that tax-raising measures in her Budget would trigger job losses and business closures.

A spokeswoman for RSM said the firm was unable to comment, while Iberica has been contacted by email for comment.

(c) Sky News 2024: Upmarket tapas chain Iberica on brink of collapse