Busaba Eathai Limited - Administration

Busaba Eathai Limited, a Thai restaurant chain with six sites in London and one in Essex, has been purchased out of administration by Seaco Investments.

Restaurateur Alan Yau founded Busaba in London in 1999. Over the years, Busaba took on more sites and eventually expanded outside London for the first time in 2016, with sites in Manchester, Liverpool, and St Albans, and a franchised restaurant in Dubai. Each of those sites closed within a few years, and the company underwent a CVA in 2020.

Busaba attempted its second expansion outside of London with sites in Cardiff and Oxford which ultimately closed in 2023.

Alex Cadwallader and Neil Bennett of Leonard Curtis were appointed joint administrators on 16 July after an “extremely challenging trading period”, including “the negative consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and a substantial increase in utilities costs”. On the same day, the business was sold to Seaco Investments via pre-pack deal, saving around 240 jobs.

Tnui Asset Finance Limited and Barclays Bank PLC have registered charges against the company.