Three restaurants in Medway have been forced to close after administrators were called in.

Italian restaurant Villagio and American diner Friendly Phil's at Chatham Maritime and The Broadwick in Chatham and Hempstead Valley have all closed after the company which runs them, Dining Street Limited, went into administration.

The news means the 147 members of staff employed by the company across Kent and the south east have been made redundant.

Administrators from KPMG were appointed last week. Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “The current plight of the UK’s hospitality sector cannot be underestimated. Despite the breadth of support packages available, the reality is that the latest lockdown measures have proven to be a hammer blow for many businesses which, like the Dining Street group of companies, continue to accrue creditor liabilities while seeing little to no revenues coming in.

"The group had a number of popular brands and outlets, and so we are currently exploring options for a sale of the business and its assets. We would like to invite any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible."

He added: "We are also working with the group’s employees as a matter of priority, to provide them with all the assistance they need in claiming monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.”

All the local businesses had been involved in the summer's Eat Out to Help Out scheme when restaurants were able to open.

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