Chocolate and cafe chain Max Brenner goes into voluntary administration

CHOCOLATE and cafe chain Max Brenner’s Australian business has been forced into voluntary administration, putting 12 Queensland businesses at risk.

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Chocolate and cafe chain Max Brenner’s Australian business has been forced into voluntary administration.

Rising costs and a slow retail trade lead to the company’s directors appointing McGrathNicol as administrator, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

UPDATE: The Queensland Max Brenner stores set to close

The chain currently has 37 stores across Australia, including 12 in Queensland, and employs about 600 staff.

The Australian business is owned and run by husband and wife team Tom and Lilly Haikin, who opened the first local store in Sydney in 1999.

Max Brenner currently has 12 stores in Queensland.

The Max Brenner brand was created by Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner in Israel in 1996. It was bought in 2001 by Stauss Group, who continue to operate stores in Israel, the US, Japan, Singapore, Russia and China.

Max Brenner is the latest food chain to come under pressure after Retail Food Group - whose brands include Donut King, Brumby’s Bakery and Gloria Jean’s - reported a $306.7 million loss for the year to June 30.