Ashurst advises FRP on Carluccio's sale to Boparan Restaurant Group

The deal, clinched in difficult trading circumstances as the UK is beginning to emerge from the Covid-19 lockdown, is a significant achievement. 800 jobs and 30 restaurants of this well-known brand have been saved. 

The sale was made possible by the judgment of Mr Justice Snowden, handed down following an urgent hearing in the first few days of the administration (briefing available here), which provided breathing space to enable the administrators to keep the staff on furlough under the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme while marketing and selling the business. While it was not possible to save all jobs, the deal is a prime example of the UK's insolvency profession's creativity and willingness to find a way through. 

The Ashurst team was led by restructuring and insolvency partner Drew Sainsbury, counsel Inga West and associate George Bland. Partner Crowley Woodford and senior associate Hannah Martin advised on employment law aspects and counsel Jonathan Hoare on property law. Partner Tim Gummer, senior associate Sara Mardell and associate Shayaan Zaraq Bari advised on tax and senior associate Don McCombie on IP.