Future of Busaba uncertain as it appoints administrators

The Busaba restaurant chain has appointed administrators as the brand’s future remains uncertain.

Filings show that law firm Leonard Curtis was appointed to handle the administration of the restaurant chain on 16 July.

Busaba’s six London restaurants and one at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex all appear to remain open and trading as normal, and the brand has continued to post promotional videos on Instagram.

Questions had been raised over the future of the Thai restaurant group after it filed a notice to intention to appoint administrators in June.

The move comes after Busaba’s Bloomsbury restaurant closed in April when its lease came to an end, and its site in Kingston upon Thames also closed in the last few months.

Busaba was founded by Alan Yau, the restaurateur behind the Wagamama and Hakkasan groups, in London in 1999.

The chain, once hailed as a casual dining pioneer, began expanding outside of the capital in 2016, opening sites in Liverpool, Manchester, St Albans and a restaurant under franchise in Dubai, but they all closed within three years.

The group underwent a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in September 2020 when it had 13 London locations, six of which are still trading.

Busaba made a second push for regional expansion over the last few years with openings in Cardiff and Oxford, however both closed in 2023. The group said last year that it would focus on London and the surrounding areas.

The latest accounts for Busaba Eathai Limited were due to be filed on Companies House by 14 June but are overdue.

The group reported turnover of £21.1m in the year ended 17 September 2023, down slightly from £21.2m in 2022. Pre-tax losses also narrowed from £3.1m in 2022 to £1.8m in 2023.

Busaba is left with six London restaurants, in Westfield Stratford City, Covent Garden, Westfield London, St Christopher’s Place, Soho and at the O2 arena, as well as its site in Essex.

Busaba and Leonard Curtis have been contacted for comment.