The national chain which runs Frankie & Benny's will be shutting 125 of its restaurants, it has been confirmed.

The future of Kent stores has been thrown into doubt after creditors of The Restaurant Group (TRG) voted in favour of a restructuring deal which will see the firm significantly slash its leisure portfolio.

It means scores of Frankie Benny's branches will not be reopening from July 4 and will remain forever shut.

The Kent outlets are dotted around the county, across Ashford, Gillingham, Maidstone, Rochester, Thanet and Tunbridge Wells.

But it has not yet been revealed which of the Italian restaurants will be axed.

The restructure, which was first announced earlier this month, will also affect TRG's smaller Garfunkel’s and Coast-to-Coast chains.

The permanent closures will impact up to 3,000 workers across all sites.

TRG says 82% of all creditors voted in favour of the deal, passing the 75% threshold to pass.

Wagamama, also owned by TRG, will not be affected by the restructure.

A spokesman for the management group said: "Unfortunately, we are unable to confirm the status of individual sites until the restructuring process is complete.

"We will start to open after July 4 and will confirm individual restaurant details nearer the time, so please look out for updates on our social media platforms."

Andy Hornby, chief executive of the group, said: “These are exceptionally challenging times for our sector and TRG is extremely grateful for the support shown by our creditors in today’s vote.

“The approval of the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is a critical component in ensuring the future prospects for our leisure business.

“I would like to wholeheartedly thank our colleagues who have shown extraordinary commitment throughout the process.”

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