Five Pizza Hut restaurants in Northern Ireland are closing with the loss of about 130 jobs after the company which holds the franchise went into administration, it was announced today.
Four more outlets employing 120 people are remaining open. The administrator is working with the franchisee to try and save five more outlets and the jobs of the 160 they employ.
David McClean, senior partner and insolvency practitioner in Belfast chartered accountants Moore Stephens, was today appointed administrator of Restaurant Management Services Ltd, the Northern Ireland company which holds the franchises for all 14 Pizza Hut outlets in the North.
The outlets being closed are in Belfast, Coleraine and Dungannon.
Another 23 jobs are to go at a car components factory in Derry, trade union Unite said.
Unite regional officer Philip Oakes said details of the second round of job cuts at the Arntz Belting factory were revealed during talks between management and the union.
The company, which makes fan belts for farm machinery, sought 28 redundancies in March and went on to a three-day week last December.