Veeno Bars appointed administrators on April 8 to protect it from going under with the owner blaming ‘rising operating costs and challenges within the property landscape’
A popular Italian bar and restaurant chain with branches across the UK has plunged into administration with its owner blaming rising costs.
Veeno Bars opened its first branch in 2013 and serves Italian food and drink in cities including Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh., Leeds, and Leicester.
The company entered administration on April 8, as the owners moved to protect it from going under. Founder Nino Caruso told the Sun “rising operating costs and challenges within the property landscape” are to blame.
A statement said: “Like many businesses in the UK casual dining sector, we have faced a combination of well-documented market pressures in recent years, including rising operating costs and challenges within the property landscape. This process allows us to address those factors, realign the business, and ensure a more sustainable foundation for the future.”
The company was established 13 years ago by Italian entrepreneurs Nino Caruso and Andrea Zecchino. The chain serves wines produced at their family vineyard in Sicily, giving the bars a unique selection of wines for guests to enjoy.
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But it already had ad to close down two of its branches, with its Manchester branch closed in August 2022 and its Chester location shut in February this year. It has now reportedly appointed administrators in order to rescue the business from immediate liquidation.
In a notice published on the London Gazette this week, David Kemp and Richard Hunt of Exigen Group Limited were appointed as joint administrators for Vintage Corporation Ltd, Veeno’s legal operating company.
It is not the first time the company has fallen into administration, with the business being saved in 2019 by Rodrigue Trouillet after he bought it out.
