The owner of Wagamama and Frankie and Benny's has announced it will be closing 35 loss-making locations across the country.
The Restaurant Group has revealed plans to shut down restaurants in an effort to boost finances, following mounting losses in 2022.
Locations that could close include Frankie and Benny's at Stevenage Leisure Park, but Wagamama in Stevenage, St Albans and Hatfield are not at risk, with the Group planning to open at least five Wagamama sites per year for the next three years, as well as boosting its international presence.
Chief executive Andy Hornby described the plans as "robust", but did not reveal any specific locations or how many jobs would be lost.
READ MORE: Restaurant Hub launched at Stevenage supermarket
"Every year a number of leases come up for potential renewal, so the vast majority is where we are going to selectively - and we haven’t fully decided yet, we are going to constantly review the way the sites are trading - exit a number of those, rather than renew the lease for another five or 10 years," he said.
"We will manage that on a localised basis, and the teams will be the first people to know.
"But we are not closing any sites that we think have got long-term profitable futures."
TRG revealed pre-tax losses of £86.8 million in 2022, up from £35.2 million in 2021, as it faced a rising food and drink, energy and wages and inflation.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here