Cafe chain Le Pain Quotidien has entered administration, shutting nine of its ten stores and cutting 250 jobs.

Brunchco UK, trading as Le Pain Quotidien in the UK, has brought in Kroll to act as administrators for the business.

While nine outlets are to close, one will remain open in St Pancras International station in London. It is not owned by Brunchco UK, but rather a sister company, SPQ Holdings Limited.

The vast majority of closures are in central London.

The branches set to close are in:

• Parsons Green
• Monument
• Royal Festival Hall, Southbank
• South Kensington
• Covent Garden
• Mayfair
• Hyde Park
• Marylebone High Street
• Oxford

Kroll has said the 250 staff have been made redundant.

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Other options, instead of ceasing trading, were examined by the company. It explored entering a company voluntary agreement, which would have allowed creditors to be paid over a fixed period.

Also considered was a sale of the business and assets. While there were offers received, Kroll said none were capable of being carried out.

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The coffee and brunch spot had faced financial pressure due to the cost of living crisis and falling footfall in the city, the administrator said.

“Pressures on parts of the hospitality and casual dining sector have been well highlighted,” said Kroll’s global co-head of restructuring, Sarah Rayment.

“Brunchco UK Limited which is predominantly located in London has suffered from reduced revenues as a result of decreased footfall in the Capital, high rents and increased wage costs.”

The UK Le Pain Quotidien business, the name of which means ‘the daily bread’ in French, had been bought in the early months of the pandemic.

Prior to COVID-19 there were 26 UK sites, owned by a Belgian company.

Le Pain Quotidien’s international operations, in more than a dozen countries across the world, are unaffected.

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