Manchester Chez Gérard closes

Groupe Chez Gérard has closed its Manchester Chez Gérard outlet, although as yet it is unclear how many staff have lost their jobs.

The restaurant, on Brown Street in the city, stopped trading on 22 August and a spokeswoman confirmed the chain was now "keeping its options open" as to its future. "We have had some offers for the site," she said.

While she did not have exact figures on the number of staff affected, Chez Gérard restaurants normally employ about 15 people.

"Where we can and when they want to, staff have been transferred to other restaurants in the group. Those who have not wanted to stay with us will have gone off on their own way," she added.

But the spokeswoman discounted rumours that Livebait in Leeds will be the next to close. "We have no plans to close Leeds, we are very happy with it," she stressed.

News of the closure comes just a fortnight after it emerged the company had also closed its Chez Gérard restaurant in Bristol.

Sell-offs have been on the cards ever since Chez Gérard was taken over by former pub operator Paramount earlier this year in a £15.5m deal.

At the time of the takeover Paramount said it would look at selling off the group's less-profitable sites.

by Nic Paton