French Village closes catering arm after £2m hit

French Village is winding down the catering arm of its business in the wake of heavy Covid related losses.

Owner of the wholesale bakery and café, Ashley French, last month informed customers that the catering his arm of his business was no longer in operation – amid uncertainty around when events, like full-scale weddings, can take place in Northern Ireland

And it has now been revealed that the company lost an estimated £2m in catering business since the start of the pandemic.

The entrepreneur insisted the decision to wind up French Village Catering had been made with a heavy heart but was necessary to protect the rest of the business.

A creditors’ meeting is due to take place on June 9.

The company also owns a wholesale bakery and a cafe and bistro on Botanic Avenue and patisserie on the Lisburn Road.

Mr French told the Belfast Telegraph: “It was two full seasons and £2m worth of catering completely taken off the books.

‘Many reasons’

“There are so many different reasons to get married but anyone not in a hurry is putting it off because we still cannot have live music and six people to a table still applies,”

French Village employs around 200 people and all those affected by the winding down of its catering arm have been offered alternative roles.

It started life with a bakery in Stanmillis in 1981 before moving that side of the business to Montgomery Road in Castlereagh.

In late 2018 it created 10 new jobs thanks to an £850,000 expansion of its catering business supported by Danske Bank.