Prezzo to shut 22 restaurants after administration

The Prezzo pizza chain will shut 22 restaurants with a loss of 216 jobs after its private equity owner bought it out of administration.

Prezzo has 178 restaurants and 2,900 employees. Cain International put the chain into administration after failing to do deals with landlords about rents, according to reports.

Cain bought Prezzo's debt and equity in early December, promising to make the business the UK's favourite Italian eateries and help revive high streets. Prezzo has been hit by intensified Covid-19 restrictions that have prevented restaurants from serving customers apart from take-away.

All Prezzo's restaurants are closed during the current lockdown and have been shut for almost half of the past year. The measures could be in place for many months with new strains of Covid-19 emerging as the government rolls out a vaccine programme that businesses hope will return trading to more normal conditions.

Jonathan Goldstein, Cain's chief executive, said: “We firmly believe that strong hospitality businesses, such as Prezzo, have a bright future and will play an essential role in reviving the UK economy. However, to do so we must get through this current crisis of mounting liabilities and no revenues."

Goldstein said lack of visibility on the future of the restaurant sector meant he had to act decisively to save the business and most of its jobs and outlets.