Gourmet Holdings puts Bel and the Dragon up for sale after poor performance

22 September 2006 by
Gourmet Holdings puts Bel and the Dragon up for sale after poor performance

Gourmet Holdings is to ditch its gastropub chain Bel and the Dragon after a "disappointing" performance.

The company has put the six-strong group on the market through property agents Christie's. Four are branded Bel and the Dragon and two are unbranded. All offer a mix of British and Mediterranean cooking.

Gourmet said it planned instead to concentrate on its all-day dining restaurant operation Richoux, of which there are currently four in the UK.

In a move to cut costs, chief executive Gareth Lloyd-Jones has been made redundant, and chairman Nigel Whittaker has today stepped down from his role.

The duties of chairman will be carried out by non-executive director Richard Scott, and managing director Andrew Guy has assumed sole executive responsibility.

Group turnover in the 52-weeks ended 25 June 2006 increased to £10.24m from £9.75m in 2005.

Operating loss before trading exceptionals was £23,000 (compared with a profit of £421,000 in 2005), largely because of poor trading in the company's non-branded pubs, which lost £275,000 in the year.

By Chris Druce

E-mail your comments to Chris Druce](mailto:chris.druce@rbi.co.uk?subject=Gourmet Holdings puts Bel and the Dragon up for sale after poor performance) here.

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