A branch of a food chain in Canterbury has closed permanently.

Eat, which was based in Whitefriars, shut down last Thursday.

The loss-making company was owned by Horizon Capital but it was bought by Pret a Manger in May this year.

Pret vowed to convert many of the Eat stores into "Veggie Prets" in response to a growing demand for vegetarian and vegan food.

But it has not been confirmed whether it will open as one of the new stores.

The shop closed last Thursday and signs have been removed from the building based in Whitefriars.

It is not yet clear what the implications are for its staff.

An Eat spokesperson said: "We have closed our shop in Canterbury following Pret A Manger’s acquisition of EAT in July 2019.

"We are sorry to say goodbye but would like to thank all our customers and staff for their support over the years."

A Pret spokesperson said: "We are currently assessing EAT’s shop estate so we can’t confirm any details regarding the Canterbury shop at the moment."

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