Thai restaurant chain Busaba acquired from administrators

Thai restaurant chain Busaba Eathai has been acquired out of administration in a pre-pack deal. The sale to Seaco Investments secures approximately 240 jobs at the chain, which operates six restaurants in London and one in Essex.

Busaba Eathai, a modern Thai restaurant, was founded by restaurateur Alan Yau in London in 1999. In 2016, the company began to expand outside the capital, opening restaurants in Manchester, Liverpool and St Albans, in addition to a restaurant under franchise in Dubai.

However, these all closed within three years. In 2020, the firm underwent a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), at which time it had 13 locations in the capital. Following a number of further closures in recent years, including sites in Bloomsbury and Kingston upon Thames this year, the company had just six London restaurants trading at the time it fell into administration.

In the last few years, Busaba had once again targeted regional expansion, opening sites in Oxford and Cardiff. However, these both closed in 2023 and, last year, the company stated that it would focus on London and the surrounding areas.

In its most recent accounts at Companies House, for the year ending September 17 2023, the company reported turnover of £21.1 million, down slightly from the year prior, while it cut its post-tax losses from £3.1 million to £1.8 million.

At the time, directors stated the firm had seen a 2 per cent like-for-like decline in sales amid the cost-of-living crisis and increasing costs for food, energy and staff.

On July 16, Neil Bennett and Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis were appointed as joint administrators of Busaba Eathai Limited. Upon their appointment, the joint administrators secured a pre-pack sale of the business to Seaco Investments, led by finance professional Ronald Seacombe.

According to the administrators, an “extremely challenging trading period” had left the business “at risk of closure if a sale via administration could not be secured”.

Commenting on the sale, joint administrators Neil Bennett said the company had “experienced tough trading conditions” over recent years, like much of the wider hospitality industry, with headwinds including inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and “a substantial increase in utilities costs.”

He continued: “The pre-pack sale has allowed us to transfer the business smoothly and has saved a long-standing London Thai restaurant along with hundreds of jobs.”

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