The Coconut Tree enters into CVA

According to documents published on Companies House, Forvis Mazars were appointed to oversee the CVA process and the group, which has previously claimed to be the ‘largest Sri Lankan restaurant group outside of Sri Lanka', had its proposals for a CVA approved by creditors and members, subject to modifications, on 13 June.

A CVA is a type of insolvency process typically used as a way for companies in distress to pay off their debts over a fixed period of time.

It comes after The Coconut Tree closed its Cardiff restaurant back in March having chosen not to renew the lease on the Mill Lane site.

Founded in 2016, the group currently operates eight UK restaurants across Reading, Oxford, Cheltenham, Bournemouth, Bath, Birmingham and Bristol.

It is led by founders Mithra Fernando, Rashintha Rodrigo, Shamil Tiranjan Fernando, Dhanushka Fernando, and Praveen Cliford Demitrius Fernando Thangiah, who all hail from Sri Lanka.

In May last year The Coconut Tree appeared to be in financial difficulty​​ after it was forced to delay wage payments to some of its employees after grappling with ‘unforeseen costs to the business’.

However, in January this year the group announced an accelerated expansion drive​​ after launching an equity-based crowdfund aiming to raise £1m.

This included plans to open two restaurants in London, both of which are yet to materialise.

According to its crowdfund page, hosted by SeedLegals​​, the business has a pre-money valuation of £10m.