Neat further reduces London estate as co-founder departs business
Neat, which is backed by Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is understood to have closed its restaurant in London Victoria last week.
The site was just one of four in the UK that was saved when the group was forced to close half of its London-based UK estate late last year amid large-scale financial pressures.
Its closure leaves Neat with just three London outposts in Soho, Camden and Wembley, and comes after Restaurant reported last week that the group has also shuttered its outposts in New York and Dubai in an apparent setback to its international ambitions.
Additionally, an update on Companies House reveals that Neat co-founder and director Zack Bishti has left the business having overseen operations since its launch in 2019.
Restaurant has contacted Neat regarding both the closures and Bishti’s departure, but is yet to receive a response.
Neat originally launched as Neat Burger in September 2019 with a site on Regent’s Street and was previously plotting an accelerated expansion programme.
In 2022, the group set out plans to have a international estate of 1,000 sites by 2030, and in 2023 raised $18m to support its global ambitions.
However, Neat Burger subsequently struggled to maintain momentum, similar to other operators in the plant based QSR space.
According to its most recent accounts filed to Companies House, the group made a loss of £7.9m in 2022. This followed a loss of £3.2m the year before.
Having closed half of its London-based UK estate last year, the group unveiled an overhaul of its concept in February this year that saw it drop the ‘Burger’ from its name and broaden its menu by moving away from fast food and positioning it as a more health-focused option with an emphasis on natural wholefoods and plant-based proteins.
At the time, Neat said it had drawn on customer feedback and the ‘changing global landscape of plant-based eating preferences’ when developing its new ‘modernised identity’.
As well as its three London restaurants, Neat continues to operate a single overseas site in Milan, Italy.
