Johannesburg-based Famous Brands is planning to pull the plug on its UK 62-site subsidiary, Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK).
The group, which is Africa’s largest branded services food franchisor, announced that it was reviewing its investment and had decided not to provide any further financial assistance to GBK.
The decision comes after governments, in the countries the group has operations, announced a lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The group said its GBK UK operation has ceased to trade. It added, “At this point, our Wimpy UK business continues to supply limited services to home delivery providers.'
The group, which owns brands such as Steers, Debonairs Pizza, Wimpy and Mugg & Bean, acquired GBK for £120m in 2016. However, GBK has more recently failed to deliver expected results.