Which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing down? Full list at risk

Here's the latest on which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing in the UK in 2023.

March 2023 brings with it more news of closures on the horizon, with hospitality company The Restaurant Group announcing plans to shut down a number of Frankie and Benny's restaurants across the UK. It's certainly sad news for fans of the American-Italian dining chain, with many holding fond memories of birthday parties and post-Cinema meals at one of the pizza and pasta joints.

It's not the only drink and dining restaurant that will be shutting doors this year with Italian chain Prezzo announcing closures, Wetherspoon pub closures expected too and rumours of Wagamama restaurants shutting down. But for now, we share which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are at risk of closing down and the reasons behind the decision.

Which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing? Full list

1. Ashford
2. Ashton under Lyne
3. Basildon
4. Blackpool
5. The Fort Shopping Centre, Birmingham
6. Broadway Plaza, Birmingham
7. Great Park, The Parkway, Birmingham
8. Aspects Leisure Park, Bristol
9. Cabot Circus, Bristol
10. Cribbs Causeway, Bristol
11. Broadstairs
12. Bury
13. Castleford
14. Chesterfield
15. Colchester
16. Croydon
17. Denton
18. Derby
19. Doncaster
20. Dudley
21. Eastleigh
22. Ellesmere Port
23. Exeter
24. Feltham
25. Gateshead
26. Gillingham
27. Great Yarmouth
28. Ipswich
29. Centre 27, Leeds
30. White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds
31. Highcross Shopping Centre, Leicester
32. Meridian Leisure Park, Leicester
33. Lincoln
34. Liverpool
35. Burleigh House on The Strand, London
36. Greenwich Bugsby Way, London
37. The O2 Arena, London
38. Wembley Designer Outlet, London
39. Manchester
40. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
41. Northampton
42. Norwich
43. Lenton Showcase Cinema, Nottingham
44. Giltbrook Retail Park, Nottingham
45. Oxford
46. Boongate Retail Park, Peterborough
47. Cygnet Park, Peterborough
48. Plymouth
49. Portsmouth
50. Rochester
51. Romford
52. Rotherham
53. Meadowhall, Sheffield
54. Valley Centertainment, Sheffield
55. Spalding
56. Stevenage
57. Stoke-on-Trent
58. Street
59. Swindon
60. Tamworth
61. Taplow
62. Trentham
63. Trowbridge
64. Tunbridge Wells
65. Watford
66. Whiteley
67. Victoria Square Shopping Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
68. Boucher Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland
69. Dundee, Scotland
70. Dunfermline, Scotland
71. Falkirk, Scotland
72. Glasgow, Scotland
73. Inverness, Scotland
74. Livingston, Scotland
75. Renfrew, Scotland
76. Queens Link Leisure Park, Aberdeen Beach, Scotland
77. Union Square, Aberdeen, Scotland
78. Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
79. Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh, Scotland
80. Bridgend, Wales
81. Cardiff, Wales
82. Carmarthen, Wales
83. Chester, Wales
84. Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
85. Nantgarw, Wales

The Italian dining chain is owned by The Restaurant Group, which also owns popular hospitality brands Wagamama and Chiquito. After announcing a pre-tax loss this week, the company confirmed that 35 of it's restaurants will be set to close. 

The Restaurant Group have confirmed that no Wagamama restaurants will close, instead brands affected by the closures include Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito.

There are 85 Frankie and Benny's restaurants currently across the UK. The hospitality company have not confirmed which restaurants will close and when, but it has shared plans to close sites that are currently making a loss.

The Restaurant Group, which altogether owns about 410 restaurants, said it would reduce its estate by 30% by next year. This is set to affect some of the 18,000 people in the UK employed by the business.

Why are Frankie and Benny's restaurants closing?

The Restaurant Group has blamed rising running costs and customers cutting back spending during the current cost of living crisis as reasons for closing some Frankie and Benny's restaurants.

According to the BBC, investors have been putting the pressure on company management to make changes after the company's share value fell by two-thirds last year.

In March 2023, the company recorded a pre-tax loss for 2022 of £86.8 million. This loss was greater than the £35.2 million pre-tax loss reported in 2021. Despite this, sales increased overall to £883 million in 2022.

Ken Hanna, the group's chairman, said that last year was particularly "challenging" for the dining sector overall, as businesses had to meet rising costs after recouping from losses as a result of closures during the pandemic.

He added that a lack of staff, demand for higher wages and the price of ingredients going up had also been "tough" and that their restaurants had been "impacted to some degree by the cost-of-living pressures on the UK consumer".

It's not the first time the UK has seen Frankie and Benny's restaurants shut down. In 2021, The Restaurant Group announced plans to close 250 sites which affected Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and their Food & Fuel brands.

Frankie and Benny's restaurants that closed following the 2021 announcement included their Bromborough, Derby and Weston-Super-Mare locations. Meanwhile sites in Wandsworth and Colliers Wood similarly shut in 2020.

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