The branches on South King Street in the city centre, as well as in the Blanchardstown and Dundrum centres, are all closing immediately. Press Up says it is hoping to reopen the premises in South King Street and Blanchardstown under a new restaurant brand within four to eight weeks.
Press Up has been taken over by Cheyne Capital, a London based investment firm, in a debt for equity swap that has left Paddy McKillen Jnr, one of the co-founders, with a stake of about 10pc in the business. His co-founder, Matt Ryan, is no longer involved.
Last week Cheyne appointed Cormac O’Connor and Shane McCarthy of KPMG as receivers to companies that operate three restaurant chains within the Press Up group. They were Elephant & Castle, which has several outlets including in Temple Bar and Rathmines; Wowburger, which has two restaurants in Dublin city centre, one of which has now closed, and Portalon Ltd, the operator of Wagamama.
It is business as usual at over a dozen other Press Up venues, which are not included in the receivership process.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – September 25th
In a statement today, Press Up said the joint receivers of Portalon had failed to reach agreement with Wagamama UK for the continued operation of the franchise in Ireland.
It said the joint receivers and the Press Up group would liaise with workers currently employed at the three Wagamama locations in Dublin to discuss the implications of the move. There are currently 106 employees, both full time and part-time, in Portalon Ltd.
“The joint receivers will enter a consultation period with all staff,” the statement said. “The Press Up hospitality group will play an important role in these discussions and the hope is to redeploy as many of the affected staff members as possible across the wider group.”
The statement added that Press Up has come to an agreement with the landlords of the South King Street and Blanchardstown branches of Wagamama for the venues to remain within the group.
“Following the termination of the Wagamama franchise agreement, it has been determined that the Press Up group is not in a position to continue to trade at Dundrum Town Centre,” the statement added.
It remains to be seen what Wagamama now plans for its franchise operations in Ireland, and whether it attempts to continue at Dundrum with a new operator. The brand is ultimately owned by The Restaurant Group, a British firm that also has other brands.
