Macclesfield's Pizza Express looks safe from closure, despite the restaurant chain announcing it will close 67 restaurants, putting 1,100 jobs at risk.

Pizza Express has also put itself up for sale, as it brings in restructuring experts to deal with debts totalling £735 million.

The restaurant business has been hit hard by coronavirus and will undertake a Company Voluntary Arrangement in a bid to cut its rent obligations across its UK restaurants.

The company hopes that by closing the restaurants, it will help save the rest of the business, protecting 9,000 jobs.

Pizza Express currently operates 449 restaurants in the UK.

A Pizza Express spokesperson said: "We cannot say at this time which branches will be closing, further information regarding these will be announced next week.

"However, we have already re-opened 160 restaurants and later this week we will announce a further 80 that will be opening.

"There are no plans to close the stores that will have re-opened."

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