Patisserie Valerie is to shuts its three Belfast cafes that have not recovered “as well as expected” following the pandemic.
The coffee and pastries business, which is backed by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital, said it has “faced a period of unprecedented challenges in recent times”.
It announced on Thursday that it will now shut nine patisseries following a review of its store estate, including outlets in Belfast's Donegall Square, Castle Lane and at Forestside Shopping Centre in the south of the city.
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Also earmarked for closure is its London Victoria Station, Windsor, Dundee, Glasgow Central, Eastbourne and Exeter sites.
“We have decided to close nine patisseries as we now do not feel they will recover sufficiently” amid further cost pressures,” the company said.
The group added that its VP Retail Limited subsidiary will cease to trade following the closures.
Patisserie Valerie is being advised over the process by accountancy firm James Cowper Kreston and it stressed that the closures will not impact the rest of its operations.
Chief executive James Fleming said: “Whilst closing stores is never an easy decision to take, we are confident this is the right thing to do to ensure the group is in a stronger position to continue investing and delivering the high quality experience our customers rightly expect in these challenging times.”
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