Two major restaurant chains are set to close a number of stores as part of a major restructure in a bid for survival.

Ed's Easy Diner and Giraffe, both of which have outlets at Bluewater, have announced they are entering a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) with creditors.

This means owners of the chains - Giraffe Concepts, part of the Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG)- will seek to reach an agreement with those it owes money to pay back a proportion of monies owed over a longer period in order for it to continue to trade and hopefully recover.

After negotiations with landlords, it is understood 27 of their combined 70 sites nationwide will close as part of the process.

KentOnline understands the Giraffe outlet in Bluewater will close, but Ed's Easy Diner will continue to trade - if the CVA is agreed with creditors.

It comes after business advisors KPMG was appointed to review options for the two struggling brands by its owners, which is understood to have included a potential sale of both.

Giraffe was purchased from Tesco for £13 million in the summer of 2016 and £10m for stores under the Ed's Easy Diner name from administration the same year.

A spokesman for BRG said: "Both the Ed’s Easy Diner brand and the Giraffe brand were distressed purchases when they came into the group and despite significantly improving like-for-like sales, the performance at a number of sites has remained unprofitable.

"This has become a common problem in the UK high street in recent months, triggering a number of CVAs across the casual dining and wider retail sectors."

Tom Crowley, chief executive of BRG said: “We have been examining options for the two brands for some time and the CVA is the only option to protect the company.

“The combination of increasing costs and over-supply of restaurants in the sector and a softening of consumer demand have all contributed to the challenges both these brands face.

“The directors believe we have all the ingredients to drive a successful turnaround of the group and can confirm we have negotiated a comprehensive refinancing package to support that turnaround which will become available if we can secure the necessary support from our creditors.”

Will Wright, restructuring partner at KPMG and a proposed supervisor of the CVA, said: “This CVA seeks to address the cost of the company’s leasehold obligations across a number of unprofitable sites, and if successful, will put the business on a surer financial footing. Importantly, it constitutes one element of a wider financial and operational turnaround plan which, subject to the CVA’s approval, will see an injection of funding into the business from the company’s majority shareholder.”

The company currently holds 70 sites, of which 13 would see a rent reduction under the terms of the CVA, and a further 27 would face closure.

Giraffe Concepts needs to secure at least 75% creditor approval for the CVA for it to proceed.

The creditors will vote on the CVA on March 21. KPMG will spend the coming weeks in talks with creditors to ensure they understand the full detail of the proposal.