Another restaurant in Norwich may be under threat as Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) announced today it is closing 26 restaurants and axing 362 roles.

The burger chain has a restaurant in Norwich’s Chapelfield Plain. It has not yet been announced which restaurants will close. The chain has made the move to avoid administration having been bought in a rescue deal by Boparan Restaurant Group.

GBK said the move will save 35 sites and 669 jobs from its original network of 61 restaurants and 1,031 employees.

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Deloitte sold the business in the pre-pack administration.

Gavin Maher, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: “As with a number of dining businesses, the broader challenges facing ‘bricks and mortar’ operators, combined with the effect of the lockdown, resulted in a deterioration in financial performance and a material funding requirement.

“We have been working closely with the management team under very difficult market conditions to try and find a funding solution and I am glad to be able to announce the rescue of this well-loved brand together with a large proportion of the sites and workforce.

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“However, it’s clearly disappointing that a number of sites have had to close resulting in today’s redundancies.

“We would like to thank all of those involved in the transaction, including our legal advisers, DLA Piper, and wish the management team, workforce and the new owners, Boparan Restaurant Group, every success in now taking the business forward.”