PIZZA Express has announced it will permanently close 73 restaurants, including two in Dorset - but the Dorchester branch has been saved from the axe.

The Dorchester branch of the Italian chain, in Brewery Square, is to remain open but branches in Poole and Bournemouth will close, it has today been announced.

The plans to permanently shut 73 restaurants and put 1,100 jobs at risk have been approved by creditors.

The chain said 89% of its creditors voted for its Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal, which will also see it secure rent reductions.

It needed a minimum of 75% of creditors to vote in favour of the deal to give it the green light.

Last month, Pizza Express 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.

It is the latest chain to announce closures and follows Zizzi-owner Azzurri Group, Byron Burger, and Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group, to shut sites after being hit by the lockdown.

Pizza Express said it currently has 355 restaurants open in the UK, with more than 30 due to reopen in the coming weeks.

The restructuring will also see a significant de-leveraging on the group's external debt, reducing it from £735 million to £319 million.

Around £144 million of new funds will be pumped into the business to drive future growth.

The full list of restaurants confirmed for closure:

Aberdeen, Belmont St

Aylesbury

Barnstaple, Three Tuns

Biggleswade

Billericay

Birmingham, Corporation St

Birmingham, Mailbox

Bournemouth, Post Office Rd

Bramhall

Bristol, Berkeley Sq

Bristol, Regent St

Bromsgrove

Bruton Place

Charlotte St

Chippenham

Dalton Park

Darlington

Dudley, Merry Hill

Earls Court, Earls Ct Rd

Edinburgh, Holyrood

Formby

Fulham Palace Road

Glasgow, Princes Square

Glossop

Gosforth

Grantham

Halifax

Hampstead

Hatch End

Hereford

Heswall

Ipswich, Lloyds Ave

Leeds, Crown St

Leeds, Horsforth

Ludlow

Lymington

Melton Mowbray

Midhurst

Milton Keynes, Hub

Moseley

New Brighton

Newcastle

Newport, Isle of Wight

Newport, South Wales

Northallerton

Nottingham, Goosegate

O2 Finchley

Orpington

Oxford, Oxford Castle

Poole

Port Solent

Ramsgate

Reading, St Mary’s Butts

Scarborough

Sheffield, Devonshire St

Sheffield The Moor

Shirley

Southport, Old Bank

Stafford

Staines

Stoke

Stourbridge

Sudbury

Torquay

Uxbridge

Wakefield

Walsall

Wapping

Wardour St

Weston-super-Mare

Whiteley Village

Whitstable

Wrexham