Business Has Suffered Significantly Due To People Working From Home

Over 50 jobs have been saved at London-based food retailer, Birleys, after it was sold out of Administration in a pre-pack deal.

The business which is most famous for its freshly-made sandwiches was established over 40 years ago. The business went into administration after suffering a fall in trade caused by significantly lower footfall as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

Birleys operates 10 sites across The City and Canary Wharf and hopes to keep nine shops open following the deal.

Kikis Kallis at Kallis Insolvency Practitioners was appointed as the Administrator and following a strategic review and sales process has sold the business to a connected consortium of shareholders which maintains the existing management team structure.

Kikis Kallis said "Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Birleys was a solid business with 15 stores and over 200 staff but the first national lockdown severely impacted the business. Over the last six months additional funding has been injected and the number of stores and staff reduced to restructure and secure the business. Sadly, the work from home U-turn in September and then the second national lockdown have proved terminal. With the business making six-figure monthly losses a speedy solution was required. 

“The sales process brought strong interest and discussions with a number of organisations. The future of the business and over 50 jobs have been saved by way of a sale which has kept the existing management team who have the experience to drive the business forward once footfall returns to the Capital. "

Edward Judge and Kunal Gadhvi, partners at Irwin Mitchell’s Restructuring and Insolvency team are providing legal advice to the Administrator.

Expert Opinion

“Birley Sandwiches is well-known around the capital and until the coronavirus pandemic was a strong and flourishing business. Like many food retailers, it has suffered due to a significant fall in the number of customers who for the last month or so have worked from home. This deal safeguards the business’ future and helps save all of the jobs at the company.” Edward Judge - Partner