Over a third of Prezzo restaurants to close
Prezzo is to close over a third of its restaurants, citing the rising costs of food and energy.
The Italian restaurant chain will close 46 loss-making sites, putting the jobs of 810 members of staff at risk.
Prezzo said the cost of its utility bills had more than doubled during the past year, while the prices of dough balls, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and spaghetti had also spiked.
“The post-COVID recovery has proved harder than we had hoped”, it added.
Prezzo previously went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by private equity firm Cain International.
The chain will keep its restaurants open in busier shopping areas.
Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the High Street”.
“The reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably,” he added.