Today’s news in brief – 06/03/24

The Gentlemen Baristas has been bought out of administration and sold for £785k. The chain previously called in an administrator from Parker Getty Limited back in January, after being “adversely affected” by higher costs of materials as well as the costs of sales and staff. 

Darwin and Wallace reported a 1.8% rise in sales for FY22/23, despite a challenging year. The operator of eight Greater London bar restaurants attributed the erosion of its sales conversion and profits to an “incredibly” tight labour market, soaring input cost inflation and supply chain challenges. As a result, these additional costs are estimated to have reduced Darwin and Wallace’s site EBITDA by approximately £1.1m. 

Brasserie Familia exceeded its crowdfunding target for its third site, raising £1.2m in the first 48 hours. The crowdfunding campaign was launched to support the opening of its third site on Brompton Road this May and received 82 investors in the first two days. After the campaign, new investors will own just over 20% of the Brasseria Family group which will be valued at over £5m.

Pizza Pilgrims officially secured B Corp certification, joining over 8,000 businesses globally and more than 1,500 in the UK. Over the last two years, the whole team at Pizza Pilgrims has been working to secure B Corp accreditation across every element of the business. The group also made a legal commitment by changing its corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders.