Greene King has confirmed this morning it is in talks with the landlords of its Loch Fyne sites, ahead of making a formal decision to proceed with a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
A spokesperson from Greene King said: “Loch Fyne has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting social restrictions. As such, we have started conversations with landlords ahead of making a decision to formally proceed with a CVA, which would enable us to hand back to landlords a number of sites which are already closed and no longer needed within the Greene King estate.
"There are no job losses as a result of this and we are looking forward to reopening a smaller number of profitable and well-run Loch Fyne restaurants, which will continue trade once restrictions ease.
“We are still in discussions and taking advice from an insolvency practitioner and have not yet started the formal process.”
The pub giant closed 25 sites, of which 11 were Loch Fyne restaurants, in October last year after a drop in trade following the 10pm curfew.
Greene King runs more than 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland. The pub company employs around 38,000 people and was sold to Hong Kong-based real estate firm CK Asset Holdings in a £2.7b deal in 2019.
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