Giraffe owner buys 33 Ed's Easy Diners, 26 in administration

Food industry tycoon Ranjit Boparan has acquired part of restaurant chain Ed's Easy Diner via Giraffe Concepts for an undisclosed sum.

The deal sees Giraffe Concepts, owned by Boparan Restaurant Holdings, which also counts other restaurant concepts such as Harry Ramsdens, FishWorks and the Cinnamon Collection in its stable, take on 33 Ed's Easy Diner restaurants and its head office, safeguarding around 700 jobs.

Those not part of the deal have been placed in administration, with KPMG appointed as the administrator. A total of 26 sites will close with the loss of 379 jobs.

Rob Croxen, partner at KPMG, said: "While we are pleased the transaction preserves around 700 jobs, our immediate priority in the coming days will be to liaise with those employees who have been affected by redundancy and ensure that in addition to receiving all back pay owed, they are provided with any assistance they need."

Earlier this week it emerged that a cut-price sale of the casual-dining chain was likely after a sharp fall in like-for-like sales.

The company was originally put up for sale last year with a price tag of £90m, but earlier this week it was suggested in The Times that it could be sold for as little as £15m in a pre-pack administration. KPMG was appointed last month to find a buyer.

Tom Crowley, managing director of Giraffe Concepts, said: "Ed's Easy Diner has been an integral part of the UK casual-dining scene for the past four decades and we are very excited about the business joining the group and the opportunities ahead."

Ranjit Singh Boparan, who also owns the 2 Sisters Food Group along with his wife Baljinder, began his career in food behind the counter of a butcher's shop in Bilston, where he was born. The 2 Sisters Good Group was founded in 1993 and remains a private company.

Restaurants transferring to Giraffe Concepts

• Basingstoke
• Belfast Boucher Square
• Birmingham BCA
• Birmingham Bullring (SS)
• Birmingham Grand Central
• Birmingham Selfridges
• Bluewater
• Brighton Churchill Square
• Bromley
• Cambridge Extra
• Cambridge Grand Arcade
• Canterbury
• Cardiff
• Cheshire Oaks
• Euston
• Glasgow St Enoch
• Gloucester
• Lakeside
• Liverpool Lord Street
• London Victoria Place
• Mayfair
• Meadowhall
• Merry Hill
• Metrocentre
• Norwich
• Nottingham Victoria Centre
• Peterborough Extra
• Rugby Elliotts Field
• Soho
• Southampton
• Swindon
• Watford
• York Designer Outlet

Restaurants to close

• Aberdeen Bon Accord
• Banbury
• Basildon Debenhams
• Blackburn The Mall
• Blackpool
• Bridgend
• Carlisle The Lanes
• Chester Grosvenor Centre
• Crawley County Mall
• Derby
• Doncaster Frenchgate
• Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird
• Inverness Eastgate
• Islington
• Leicester
• Livingston The Centre
• Luton The Mall
• Manchester Debenhams
• Plymouth Drake Circus
• Reading
• Redditch
• Trocadero
• Wandsworth
• White City Debenhams
• Woking
• York Monks Cross

Ed's Easy Diner could be sold at a cut-price >>

Harry Ramsden's owner acquires Tesco's Giraffe restaurants >>

Harry Ramsden's and Fishworks owner buys Cinnamon Collection >>

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