Vurger Co vegan restaurant group ceases trading

Vegan fast food brand Vurger Co has ceased trading after nine years in business.

The group has closed its remaining three restaurants in Brighton, Manchester, and London's Shoreditch.

"To all our loyal customers and supporters, it is with the most incredible sadness that we have to tell you today that we have decided to close the doors to the Vurger Co restaurants for the last time," the group wrote in an Instagram post.

Vurger Co was founded by Neil Potts and Rachel Hugh as a street food stall in 2016 in a bid to make vegan food more accessible. It grew to four restaurants, serving burgers, waffles, salads, wraps and shakes.

The business struggled in the aftermath of the pandemic with a rise in prices, business rates and the cost of VAT. It collapsed into administration in 2023 with the closure of its site in London's Canary Wharf but was acquired by Potts and Hugh with the backing of new and existing investors.

In an update on Instagram yesterday, Hugh paid tribute to the group's long-time customers.

She wrote: "Thank you for all your DM's, your emails and so much more this past week. Your kindness is bursting through. We just wanted to share our final update with everyone here as Instagram is what initially changed the game for us.

"We've been building this community since 2016, and we still have people who have eaten our very first burger still following along today.

"We honestly just have so much pride in our hearts for the journey to here. We have loved every team member past and present, created every restaurant with so much detail and poured our souls into making a positive difference every day.

"We hope we made a lasting positive impact in your lives for years to come."

Vurger Co is the latest in a growing number of independent restaurant businesses to close since the start of the year as operators battle with a rise in costs and a drop in consumer spending.

Rival plant-based chain Neat, which is backed by Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, has rebranded and shifted its menu away from burgers in a bid to capture the lunch market after closing four restaurant last year.

The owner of vegan restaurant Nomas Gastrobar in Macclesfield told The Caterer he has reluctantly had to start serving meat in a bid to keep trading.