Frankie and Benny’s owner the Restaurant Group is to shut 33 of its 500 restaurants.
While the majority of the sites operate as Frankie & Benny’s, 11 are Chiquito restaurants.
Four of the restaurants due to close are in Scotland, four in Northern Ireland, two in Wales, and six in London, including one in Barking. Fleurets is advising the company.
The Restaurant Group, which continues to be profitable, said that overpricing, the removal of popular meals and poor operational execution had damaged Frankie & Benny’s performance.
Despite the closures and a slowdown in the expansion of the brand, the company said it still hoped to open more Frankie & Benny’s on a case-by-case basis.
It is also reviewing other brands: American-themed restaurant Coast to Coast, of which it has 23; 14 Joe’s Kitchens; and Garfunkels, which has nine sites, eight of which are in London.
Alongside the 33 closures, the group has also written down the value on a further 29 properties.
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