Branches on South King Street in the city centre, as well as in shopping centres in Blanchardstown and Dundrum closed after unsuccessful talks between Wagamama’s headquarters and receivers appointed to part of the Press Up group.
Sources with knowledge of Wagamama’s plans say the British chain is preparing to open new Irish outlets that it will run directly, and this will include a bigger restaurant in Dundrum.
Last year, The Restaurant Group – which owns Wagamama – agreed to be taken private by US equity firm Apollo Global in a deal that valued it at €560m. Since then Apollo has been taking back Wagamama franchises in a number of countries with a view to operating them directly. The company did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.
‘The hope is to redeploy as many of the affected staff members as possible across the wider group’
Press Up is planning to reopen the premises in South King Street and Blanchardstown under new restaurant brands before Christmas. The Dundrum premises will not be re-opened by the group, however.
Press Up has been taken over by Cheyne Capital, a UK-based investment firm, in a debt-for-equity swap that has left co-founder Paddy McKillen Jr, with a stake of about 10pc.
His co-founder, Matt Ryan, is no longer involved.
Elephant & Castle
On Tuesday, Mr McKillen Jr resigned as a director of three companies associated with the group. Records at the Companies Registration Office show that among them was Greenfield Ideas Ltd, which holds the licence for Ashton’s Gastro Pub in Clonskeagh and Thomas Rody Maher’s on Baggot Street in Dublin.
He also stood down from Sanphase Ltd, which held the licence for The Lucky Duck pub on Aungier Street in Dublin, and from Crawley Ltd, the operator of Captain America’s restaurant on Grafton Street.
Last week Cheyne appointed Cormac O’Connor and Shane McCarthy of KPMG as receivers to companies operating three chains within the Press Up group. They were Elephant & Castle, Wowburger, and Portalon, operator of Wagamama.
It is business as usual at 17 other Press Up venues not included in the receivership process. These include the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, the Workman’s Club in Temple Bar, and both branches of Captain America’s.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – September 26th
In a statement, 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. They would liaise with the 106 employees at the three Wagamama locations in Dublin to discuss the implications of the move.
“The hope is to redeploy as many of the affected staff members as possible across the wider group,” the statement said. It is understood all 106 employees, both full-time and part-time, are likely to be offered new jobs.
The statement added that Press Up has come to an agreement with the landlords of the South King Street and Blanchardstown premises 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.