Grillstock barbecue group 'no longer in administration'
The company, which had included Turtle Bay founder Ajith Jaya-Wickrema as an investor, was placed in to administration last month while a buyer was sought for the business.
According to BigHospitality’s sister site MCA, a new company including some of the group’s former directors, but not Jaya-Wickrema or founders John Finch and Ben Merrington, has bought back the business.
The company said in a Facebook post that it had ‘exciting plans’ for the future but had closed its Walthamstow site ‘until further notice’.
“[Our] smokehouses did come under threat from being put out for good, however we as the Grillstock team narrowed our focus and pulled it together to make sure that that wouldn’t happen, and we are over the grill (so to speak!) to announce that we are no longer in administration!” Grillstock wrote.
“We have exciting plans for the future of Grillstock, with the introduction of many new elements along with the improvement of others to make Grillstock bigger and better than it ever was before.
“However, this transition has caused a casualty, and has led our London E17 Walthamstow smokehouse to be closed until further notice. We have had the honour in having some of the most giving, craziest and most professional crew members to represent Grillstock through the years in this smokehouse so hope this situation can be sorted soon.”
Grillstock started out as a barbecue and music festival in Bristol and opened a takeaway unit in the city in 2012, followed by its first permanent restaurant in 2013.
It is left with two sites in Bristol and one each in Leicester and Bath.
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