The Lunch Garden restaurant chain will declare bankruptcy Monday morning. Hundreds of job losses are expected.
The Lunch Garden restaurant chain will declare bankruptcy Monday morning at the Brussels business court, L’Echo reported Friday evening, citing a union source. The CIM Capital fund is expected to take over a series of restaurants, but hundreds of job losses are expected.
The chain, which operates 61 restaurants, has already gone through a restructuring in recent years. At the end of 2023, the company only had 800 to 900 workers, while there were still 1,100 in 2020.
Since 2021, the British fund ICG has become the main shareholder of Lunch Garden. To try to get things back on track after the difficult Covid period, ICG injected 13.5 million euros in 2023 and 5 million euros in 2024. But faced with losses linked to the health crisis, the increase in manufacturing costs energy, the indexation of salaries and rents (Lunch Garden rents its premises) and the rise in food prices, Lunch Garden has not managed to get back afloat, continues the economic daily.
-Take over companies in difficulty
The newspaper further specifies that the company carried out a private legal reorganization last year in order to find a buyer for the activities. Without success. “It was therefore necessary to turn to silent bankruptcy for a candidate to finally emerge from the woods. A priori, this is the CIM Capital fund, known for taking over companies in difficulty.“Around 260 jobs are expected to be saved.
The management of the restaurant chain has summoned staff representatives for an extraordinary works council on Monday at 8:30 a.m. at the headquarters in Evere, the ACV/CSC Food and Services union announced on Friday.
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