Faucet Inn puts KuPP in to administration
BigHospitality's sister site MCA reports that the group’s locations in Southampton and Exeter have both shut their doors.
FRP Advisory LLP appointed joint administrators to KuPP Ltd on 21 August.
Faucet founder Steve Cox has agreed to buy back the remaining two sites, the debut restaurant in London’s Paddington and most recent launch in Oxford Westgate, from administrators.
Cox told MCA both locations continued to trade well and the group is also still in talks to take the brand to Oslo, where Faucet already operates a site under its Babel bar model.
He said the focus going forward would be on smaller sites for the brand.
Faucet launched KuPP as an all-day café and restaurant brand in London in 2015. Its Nordic-inspired menu ranged from smoked meatball sandwiches to Gravadlax.
Cox said it had been a difficult decision to put KuPP into administration but that it was the right decision for the future of the brand.
He told MCA: “It’s really unfortunate and it’s the last thing we want to happen but the cost headwinds that were against us and the sheer size of these units meant we just weren’t generating the traffic to warrant the costs. We didn’t want those sites to detract from the successes in the rest of the estate.”
He said the group was also keen to grow its currently 12-strong pub estate with one acquisition close to completion.
Faucet also operates the Neighbourhood concept in Southampton and Stratford.
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