Pizza Express is to permanently close one of its Aberdeen restaurants as part of a nationwide restructuring plan, which will cost around 1,100 people their jobs.
Yesterday the struggling firm’s creditors approved the move which will result in 73 closures.
The list includes the Belmont Street restaurant in the Granite City.
The chain said 89% of its creditors voted for the restructuring deal, agreed alongside rent reductions at other premises.
The agreement will also significantly reduce the company’s external debt, from £735 million to £319m, and unlocks around £144m of new funding.
Pizza Express is the latest in a raft of chains, including Zizzi-owner Azzurri Group, Byron Burger, and Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group, to shut sites after being hit by the lockdown.
Last month, the company said the slump in revenue caused by the enforced closure of all restaurants during the pandemic, the cost of reopening, and the UK’s uncertain economic future meant its rental costs were no longer sustainable.
The chain, which is majority-owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, also confirmed it was up for sale.
Pizza Express has 355 UK restaurants – including two others in Aberdeen – open after lockdown, with more than 30 due to reopen in the coming weeks.
In a statement, Pizza Express said: “The successful vote unlocks the company’s ability to actively address the challenges brought by Covid-19, securing over 9,000 jobs in the UK.”