An award-winning Coventry eatery that closed suddenly has revealed that the city centre-based site was ‘not profitable.’ The Botanist closed with immediate effect on Monday (January 6).
Owner New World Trading Company (NWTC) launched a CVA in October last year, which was approved by more than 95 per cent of responding creditors, they claimed. CVAs allow struggling businesses to pay off their debts over a fixed period.
As part of this, three ‘non-profitable’ sites closed on January 6, including The Botanist in Cathedral Lanes on Broadgate. Staff were said to be ‘unaware’ that the city centre-based eatery would be closing, according to a listing shared on Rightmove.
READ MORE: Shock as award-winning Coventry eatery The Botanist suddenly closes as staff ‘unaware’
Bosses at NWTC refuted this, saying staff were their ‘top priority.’ In a statement issued today (January 8), the Warrington-based firm claimed employees were told about the CVA last year and have been kept informed via telephone calls and in-person meetings.
In a statement to CoventryLive, NWTC said: “We launched a CVA in October 2024, which was approved by more than 95 per cent of all responding creditors. As part of the successful CVA process, a further three non-profitable sites closed on January 6, including The Botanist, Coventry.
“Our teams are our top priority, and it was of the greatest importance to us that they were kept informed of the CVA process periodically. From October onwards, we had ongoing communication via in-person meetings, email, and online calls.
“Our site teams were made aware of the resulting closures as soon as possible upon conclusion of the CVA. Meetings were conducted in person at the site, via telephone calls, and online meetings. We are working to relocate team members from affected sites into our neighbouring venues where possible and continue to offer support to those who this is not suitable for.
“We have been made aware that the property had been listed for lease prior to the conclusion of the CVA by the landlord. We want to clarify that this action was unrelated to NWTC, and we understand how distressing this may have been and empathise with our affected team members.”
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