The familiar – though much reduced – Little Chef brand is in danger of disappearing, its owners have warned.
Little Chef had 234 outlets until 2007, when it went into administration, and has been highly visible besides Britain’s A roads for over fifty years.
Owners RCapital have been working to revive the brand, reducing the number of outlets to just 83, and employing Heston Blumenthal to improve the menu.
However, and despite returning Little Chef to profitability, RCapital have put it up for sale.
Little Chef to disappear?
RCapital now warns that most of the bids coming in for the business are from fast-food chains who will re-brand it: the likes of McDonald’s, KFC or even Costa Coffee would have no interest in retaining The Little Chef brand but would convert suitable sites and dispose of the rest.
A sad but perhaps inevitable end for a well-known feature of UK motoring.