A plan to save Las Iguanas has been approved after the company said it would ‘inevitably enter administration’ – the chain operates 44 restaurants across the UK
The company which runs Las Iguanas restaurants has been saved from administration after a rescue plan was approved by a High Court judge.
Lawyers for Iguanas Holdings Limited told a hearing on Friday that the company would “inevitably enter administration” if the restructure plan was not approved. The firm runs 44 Las Iguanas restaurants across the UK.
Ryan Perkins, for the firm, explained financial support from parent company The Big Table Group – which also owns chains including Frankie & Benny’s and Bella Italia – had kept it afloat
The restructuring plan was approved by the majority of creditors. It will wipe out debts of around £37m owed to one of Iguanas Holdings’ creditors. Big Table will also inject £3m into the firm as part of a “turnaround strategy”.
It will also lead to reductions of some of its rents being “imposed” on landlords and the “compromise” of some debts owed to them.
Mr Justice Meade sanctioned the scheme at the end of the hearing in London.
Mr Perkins told a previous hearing that the UK casual dining sector had suffered “substantial problems” in recent years because of high inflation, reduced customer spending and increased taxes.
He continued that despite Iguanas Holdings and Big Table “improving the Las Iguanas menu and customer experience”, trading conditions “remain very challenging” and that Iguanas Holdings lost nearly £10m in the 2025 financial year.
The barrister also said the company would “simply run out of money” if the plan was not approved, with a judge allowing the company to take the scheme to be voted on by creditors last month.
In court on Friday, Mr Perkins said: “There are some creditors who voted against (the plan), but none of these creditors appears before your lordship today to contend that the plan should not be sanctioned.”
He continued: “No creditor, even the ones who voted against, has suggested that there is any alternative or better deal.”
The barrister added that the restructuring plan was “similar” to that seen with other high-street chains in recent years, including Poundland, River Island and Revolution Bars.
