Comedian Romesh Ranganathan has said he is “gutted” after the 89-year-old bakery chain he part-owns shut down.
Coughlans Bakery – which operates a chain of shops across Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and south London – announced it had ceased trading on Tuesday after it went into voluntary liquidation.
Ranganathan, best known for his deadpan stage style, became its co-owner in 2024, describing it as “the partnership of the century”.
Managing director Sean Coughlan blamed the closure on the government’s decision to increase national insurance contributions for employers in April last year, along with high business rates.
Posting on social media, he described the rates as having “absolutely smashed local business”.
He added that, combined with the spike in fuel prices following recent conflict in the Middle East, had cost the company an extra £20,000 a week.
