Veeno Bars administration: popular Leeds Italian wine bar at risk as restaurant firm falls into administration
A decade-long run now faces a critical test, as efforts begin to stabilise the business and secure its future 🍷
- Italian bar and restaurant chain Veeno has entered administration after rising costs
- The chain operates a venue in Leeds, with its future now uncertain
- Administrators have been appointed to try to restructure and save the business
- Veeno has already closed sites in Manchester and Chester in recent years
- All remaining locations could be at risk if a recovery plan is unsuccessful
Diners in Leeds could soon feel the impact of mounting pressures in the UK’s casual dining sector, as an Italian bar and restaurant chain enters administration following more than a decade in business.
Veeno Bars, which operates a venue in the city, formally appointed administrators on Wednesday, April 8 in a bid to avoid collapse and restructure its finances.
While trading continues for now, the future of all remaining sites, including Leeds, remains uncertain.
Founded in 2013 by Italian entrepreneurs Nino Caruso and Andrea Zecchino, Veeno built its reputation on serving authentic Italian small plates alongside wines sourced directly from the founders’ family vineyard in Sicily.
The concept proved popular, helping the brand expand to several UK cities as well as an international site in Poland. But like many hospitality businesses, Veeno has struggled with a wave of economic challenges in recent years.
Rising operating costs, shifting consumer habits, and increasing pressure from property and rent expenses have all contributed to the company’s financial difficulties.
Caruso said the move into administration would allow the business to “address those factors, realign the business, and ensure a more sustainable foundation for the future.”
Administration is a legal process designed to protect a company from immediate closure while options are explored to rescue or restructure it.
David Kemp and Richard Hunt of Exigen Group have been appointed as joint administrators for Vintage Corporation Ltd, Veeno’s operating company.
The chain has already scaled back in recent years, closing its Manchester site in 2022 and its Chester branch earlier this year.
For Leeds customers, the question is whether the local venue can survive the restructuring process, or whether it will become another casualty of a sector facing sustained financial strain.