Thousands of Carluccio’s staff lose their jobs

More than a thousand furloughed workers at Carluccio’s have lost their jobs after the closure of 40 of its 71 outlets by administrators.

Boparan Restaurant Group, which owns the Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner chains, has bought the brand and 30 restaurants for a knock-down price estimated at £3 million. The deal saves more than 800 jobs. The administrators said they were working to ensure that the 1,019 staff affected received redundancy payments.

Carluccio’s, like others in the sector, had been struggling before the pandemic outbreak. This week the private equity-backed Casual Dining Group, which operates the Las Iguanas and Café Rouge chains, filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators, putting more than 6,000 jobs a risk.