GBK follows Carluccio’s to Boparan following Covid squeeze

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 14 October, 2020

Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), owner of Carluccio’s, has acquired burger brand Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), saving 35 trading sites national-wide.

The deal will save over half of the chain’s estate, which currently consists of 62 sites across the UK.

BRG, which is owned by entrepreneur Ranjit Singh Boparan, has a history of bailing out struggling restaurant chains.

Back in May, the group scooped up high street Italian Carluccio’s for the knocked-down sum of £3m and saving 800 of approximately 1,800 workers.

With the acquisition of GBK, the group will save around half of the workforce, equating to over 600 jobs.

“We welcome the GBK team to BRG,” Satnam Leihal, managing director of BRG said.

“This latest acquisition is in line with our strategy to grow our restaurant group with quality brands. Whilst it is an extremely challenging time for the sector, we believe quality hospitality businesses will recover in the long term as people return to eating out.”

GBK offers cocktails, wine and beer as part of its gourmet fast-food concept and was a popular draw on the high street prior to lockdown. However, the pressures of the casual dining market mixed with Covid meant that formers owners Famous Brands said it could no longer fund the chain’s loss-making sites, and moved to find a buyer.

GBK joins The Cinnamon Collection, Fishworks, Carluccio’s, Slim Chickens, Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner in the BRG portfolio, giving the company a 99-strong estate of restaurants nationwide with 32 franchised globally.

BRG will also continue GBK’s franchise partnership in the UAE.

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