The Vurger Co. narrowly avoids collapse, saved at ‘the eleventh hour’
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egan burger group The Vurger Co. has appointed administrators after “a painful few years of trading.”
The business began out in 2016 as a small stall in Tottenham, north London, and now has websites in Shoreditch, Brighton, and Manchester.
A fourth department in Canary Wharf, which opened in 2019, has since closed.
Co-founder Rachel Hugh stated in a press release despatched to the Standard that the pandemic introduced “enormous challenges” however that, the Canary Wharf web site apart, The Vurger Co. eating places stay open and the long run appears optimistic now new funding has been secured.
“It’s been a painful few years trading as a small vegan restaurant business in the UK,” she stated.
“After recording strong growth, we were hit with enormous challenges due to the pandemic. We’ve worked tirelessly to build the business from scratch, and it’s been a huge challenge, but we’re proud of what we’ve achieved.”
Hugh added that quite a few different elements have impacted the corporate and that at one stage it regarded destined to shut solely, however new traders had been discovered at “the eleventh hour”.
She added: “We also had to contend with the cost of living crisis and the chaos caused by Brexit, leaving small businesses to fend for themselves.
“Even without touching on major issues such as government business rates, VAT, energy price hikes, and lack of financing access, it has become an extremely hostile time to operate in the hospitality industry… After a buyer pulled out of the deal at the last moment, we had to decide between completely closing down the company or trying yet again to find investor support at the eleventh hour.
“We were able to lead an acquisition of the brand through a pre-pack administration, securing the future of the company.”
Vegan market struggling?
The Vurger Co. is one in every of quite a lot of fashionable vegan quick meals restaurant teams and serves plant-based burgers utilizing the likes of Beyond Meat, tempeh, and soya.
Other dishes embrace plant-based nuggets, salad bowls, candy potato fries, and tater tots.
The group’s monetary difficulties come as curiosity in new-age vegan and vegetarian quick meals seems to be waning.
Veggie Pret closed all but two of its veg-focused branches in London in December final yr, whereas the Made in Chelsea actor Verity Bowditch shut two of her Clean Kitchen Club eating places in February, simply 18 months after launch.
Earlier in 2022, Honest Burgers known as time on its meat-free V Honest branches solely six months in, with co-founder Tom Barton saying there was not sufficient demand.
Barton told The Times that the hype round plant-based diets, partially fuelled by social media, had not translated into gross sales.