A UK crêpe firm's Oxford branch has shut after a £3m administration around a year ago.
Crepe Affaire, in Banbury Road, Summertown, closed on Wednesday, May 27 although founder of the business Daniel Spinath said that it may return.
He said the closure was because the store's five-year franchise agreement had ended and that the company is weighing up its options before taking the next step.
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Reacting to the news, a now redundant worker said: “It is sad but we are closing. It is a big space and too big for the number of customers."
Offering a range of sweet and savoury crêpes for its customers, it opened in 2021 with some fanfare as part of the £15 million, 180-bedroom easyHotel development in the area.
However, since then the wider business - which has branches across the world including in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands - has struggled and was placed into administration in early 2025.
Crepe Affaire Limited posted creditors falling within a year of £1,333,673 in its latest accounts to December 31, 2023 and has been in administration since early 2025.
In the administrators (Quantuma Advisory Limited) report, it was revealed the long-term creditor rise had risen to £3 million as the company struggled in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
It said: "The Covid-19 pandemic on top of the inflation and interest rate hikes, led to the company's trading results being severely below pre-Covid levels."
Following its administration, nine company-owned retail sites were sold to newly set-up company Crepe Trading, reportedly saving over 60 jobs.
This was in a pre-pack sale which occurs when a company enters administration and is immediately sold by the administrator, with the deal typically being negotiated before the formal appointment of insolvency practitioners.
This did not include the Oxford branch with the franchise business being sold separately to another new business Crepe Union.
The directors of Crepe Affaire Limited, the company £3 million in debt, Allen Kerslake and Daniel Spinath, are now respectively the directors of Crepe Union and Crepe Trading.
Mr Spinath has said that, after its troubles, which he linked to the pandemic, the company is going strong internationally, and is even looking to expand into the US.
"The business is in good health despite it being a tough retail environment," he said.
"The UK side is up and the international side is also doing really well.
"We're here to stay."
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At the time of the branch's opening in 2021, Daniel Spinath, founder and CEO of Crepe Affaire, said: “We’ve got something for everyone with our vegan crepes, gluten-free galettes, dairy-free cheese, meat-free chick’n.
“We want to be as inclusive as possible. That’s why our menu has a large range of free-from and dietary options. Vegan? Dairy free? Gluten free? Vegetarian? Pescatarian? Lower calories? We’ve got your back.”
It had a 76 per cent 'recommended' score on Facebook based on more than 250 reviews.
