Lewis Hamilton-backed meatless UK restaurant chain falls into liquidation
Lewis Hamilton-backed meatless UK restaurant chain falls into liquidation
By JANE DENTON,
Sir Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio-backed synthetic meat restaurant group Neat Burger entered liquidation last month, Companies House documents show.
Hamilton once said the company was set up to 'make plant-based eating more accessible to everyone whether you eat plant-based all the time or just want to add it to your diet every now and again'.
All of the vegan fast-food chain's eight UK restaurants shut their doors for the final time earlier this year.
In a statutory notice of solvency form completed by the company's liquidators, Neat Burger's book value, or the sum the company's shareholders could potentially get, was said to be £1,279,044 as of 2 July.
Liquidators at FRP Advisory signed on the dotted line of the official form for appointing liquidators on 22 July, with the form processed by Companies House on 31 July.
The chain struggled to become profitable amid sluggish demand for vegan food, cost-of-living pressures, and a slump in delivery orders.
Liquidation: Sir Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio-backed synthetic meat restaurant group Neat Burger entered liquidation last month
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The most recent comprehensive accounts for the business were published on Companies House in 2023. For the year to 31 December 2022, Neat Burger unveiled a near £7.9million loss.
Signs of strife were evident in the company's accounts.
The group said in its accounts in for the year to December 2022: 'After a year of restrictions and lockdowns in 2021, 2022 began with similarly challenging circumstances.'
Sir Lewis Hamilton in a Neat Burger restaurant
It added: 'In light of changing work habits, the directors have identified that future expansion of the corporate estate should focus on smaller, compact units situated in high-footfall areas. As a result of this refinement in strategy, the group has opted to discontinue plans for locations at King's Road, Queensway and Waterloo.'
Neat Burger restaurants in London's Camden, Soho, Stratford, Oxford Circus, Canary Wharf, Victoria, Liverpool Street and Wembley are all shut by the end of April this year.
Four of the chain's eight London's restaurants were closed in 2023, prompting a number of job losses. A spokesperson at the time said, 'Sometimes, taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward'.
The restaurant business was established with celebrity and Soft Bank backing in 2019.
Previously led by chief executive and early Beyond Meat investor Ryan Bishti, Neat Meat completed a funding round in 2021 that saw the group valued at $70million and opened up plans for rapid expansion.
It expanded to several cities, including Milan, and New York, despite its financial challenges.
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Lewis Hamilton-backed synthetic meat burger chain shuts last UK restaurants as losses mount
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The group also had a franchise offering as well as a dark kitchen business, whereby it sells meals exclusively through delivery.
DiCaprio previously opened up about his thoughts on the business, stating: 'Disrupting our food system with sustainable alternatives is one of the key ways we can make a real difference in reducing global emissions.
'Neat Burger's pioneering approach to alternative-proteins is a great example of the type of solutions we need moving forward.'
In a further sign of the fragility of the meat substitute market, Beyond Meat this week announced job cuts and missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue, having been hit by weak demand for its plant-based meat products in the US amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
Hospitality businesses across Britain are battling against higher wages and employer national insurance costs, as well as high energy bills and business rates.
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