Shropshire Star

Burger King in Shrewsbury town centre could close - just weeks after McDonald's shuts its doors

Shrewsbury's branch of fast food chain Burger King could be under threat after its franchise holder entered administration – just weeks after McDonald's closed its town centre branch.

Published

Nick Cropper, Ryan Grant and Catherine Williamson of business advisory firm AlixPartners were appointed joint administrators over CPL Foods Ltd, which ran the Shrewsbury outlet in Castle Street, and Millcliffe Ltd earlier this month. The two companies operated Burger King restaurants around the country.

In total about 1,000 jobs and more than 30 branches are affected by the companies' collapse into administration, including the Shrewsbury town centre outlet.

The administrators said they hope to find a buyer for the stricken businesses, however. All the branches will continue to trade while AlixPartners and Burger King look for a buyer.

The companies had been hit by cash flow pressure because of delays in developing and opening new stores as part of their growth strategy.

The American chain opened its Castle Street branch on the site of an old Chinese restaurant in 2015.

It used to have a large restaurant on Pride Hill that is now occupied by upmarket supermarket giant Waitrose, which took over the vacant lot in 2011.

Joint administrator Nick Cropper said: "Our priority now is to work closely with the business and determine the optimum route forward for the companies as we continue to serve our valued guests throughout the UK.

"We are confident that the companies are an attractive proposition for a range of potential buyers and, as such, we expect and welcome contact from interested third parties."

Burger King branches in the West Midlands in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Dudley are also among those affected by the franchisees' collapse.

Shrewsbury has already lost one of its town centre fast food chains in recent months, after McDonald's decided to close its Pride Hill branch in February.

The restaurant had been a feature of Pride Hill for more than 30 years and part of the building which was home to the fast-food chain dates back to the 13th century – making it one of the oldest buildings in the world to house a McDonald's restaurant.

At the same time, however, McDonalds has been expanding another restaurant in the town, at Battlefield.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.