Deloitte says all 22 Cau sites have immediately shut their doors, with around 540 job losses.
The chain was “significantly loss-making” and suffered negative like-for-like sales for three years, says Deloitte.
But Matt Smith, joint administrator at Deloitte, says its 16-strong sister Gaucho brand continues to “trade well”.
“Unfortunately the Cau brand has struggled in the oversupplied casual dining sector with rapid over-expansion, poor site selection, onerous lease arrangements and a fundamentally poor guest proposition all being factors in its underperformance,” says Smith.
“The Gaucho business on the other hand, which operates in the premium dining market, continues to trade well in its market segment, is profitable and has a strong underlying brand and guest loyalty.”
Cau launched as a more casual offshoot of the Gaucho brand in Amsterdam in 2010, before making its UK debut in Guildford in 2011.
Gaucho confirmed its intention to file for administration yesterday (18 July) after failing to find a buyer.
Sky News reported that the group, which employs 714 people in Gaucho-branded restaurants and 51 at its head office, has a c.£1m unpaid tax bill and owes £50m to its banks - neither of which it could pay without a rescue deal.
All of the Gaucho sites will continue to trade ‘as usual’ whilst the administrators seek a buyer for the business.
They will also seek to find potential buyers for the Cau sites.