Earlier in his career he was a finalist in So You Think You're Funny 2010 and winner of Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year 2013.
31 stores co-owned by the comic to close
The bakery chain co-owned by Romesh Ranganathan has gone into liquidation.
The comedian says he is ‘gutted’ that 89-year-old Coughlans Bakery – which runs 31 stores across South East England - has been forced to close.
He became a co-owner in 2024, describing it as ‘the partnership of the century.’
But managing director Sean Coughlan has now announced the company’s closure, blaming Rachel Reeves’s decision to increase national insurance contributions for employers, high business rates, which ‘absolutely smashed local business’, and a hike in fuel prices. He said the combined pressures amounted to an extra £20,000 a week in costs for the company.
Ranganathan reposted Coughlan's video announcing the news to his 1.4 million followers on Instagram with the caption: ‘Gutted isn't the word.’
In the video, Coughlan said: ‘Romesh has been amazing, I want to thank him so much. I feel like we've absolutely let him down. Everything he's done, it's been from the heart.
‘He's devastated. None of us saw this coming. We were looking forward to working together. We had so much fun.
‘There's not a day working with Rom we haven't had a great time, and he's really included himself into our family.’
He said recent heatwaves had been the ‘nail in the coffin’ because ‘no one really seems to come out… We literally take about 50 per cent of what we would normally take in a normal week, with our outgoings still exactly the same, which is absolutely heartbreaking.'
In response, Ranganathan posted: 'You’ve not let me down mate! Much love.'
The bakery chain first opened in 1937 and in December 2024, Ranganathan convinced bosses to open in his home town of Crawley.
Last year, the comic was pictured working behind the counter to launch a vegan treat he designed, the Ranga Yum Yum.
The last set of accounts filed at Companies House showed that Coughlans Bakery last year made a £94,000 pre-tax loss on sales of £6.7million.
Published: 1 Jul 2026
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Book (2023)
Lil' Muffin Drops The Mic by Romesh Ranganathan
DVD (2016)
Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational
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