Tossed owner Zest Food secures creditor backing for rescue plan
Tossed owner Zest Food has secured the backing of its creditors to implement a rescue plan, which will allow its salad bar brand to continue to trade.
The healthy fast food chain, which trades from 24 central London locations, said that no stores will need to close immediately, but it will seek to exit onerous leases as it restructures the firm.
Read more: Zest Food seeks rent cuts in restructuring plan
All viable Vital Ingredient branches, which the company acquired two years ago, will be converted into Tossed stores, which remain in growth, the company said in a statement this morning.
Zest Food, which has 24 stores in central London, acquired eight Vital Ingredient branches in 2017, however those sites traded “significantly below expectations”, meaning a restructuring of the entire company became “unavoidable”.
Last month, the casual dining chain said it would ask landlords to agree to a combination of zero rent and rent reduction arrangements as part of the company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
Neil Sebba, Zest Food managing director, said: “We very much appreciate the support of our creditors in approving our restructuring plans.
“This has been an extremely difficult time for the company, but the CVA provides breathing space, and ultimately strong foundations for continued growth in the Tossed brand in the future.
“Protecting the jobs of all of our team in such uncertain times is extremely important to us, and we are fortunate that no stores will need to close immediately.
Read more: Has-beans? What Chilango’s CVA tells us abut the struggling casual dining sector
“Looking to 2020, all viable stores will be converted to the Tossed brand, which remains the leading health, fresh-made-to-order offer. Our focus on technology in Tossed has been proven to stand the brand ahead of its peers, and we look forward to refocusing on that next year.”
Main image credit: Zest Food