A POPULAR New Forest restaurant is set to close due to rising costs.

Prezzo has announced it will be closing its restaurant in Lyndhurst on High Street.

The Italian restaurant group is closing 46 UK restaurants in total, which will affect 810 workers.

The shake-up will leave the hospitality chain with 97 restaurants and about 2,000 staff.

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It said the closures come after utility costs rocketed by more than double.

The move will impact a raft of sites where footfall is still below pre-pandemic levels and leave more restaurants in busier shopping destinations such as retail parks or tourist hot-spots.

Staff were informed about the closures on Monday morning, with a consultation process launched.

Prezzo said it will work to redeploy “as many staff internally as possible” and will support others in new opportunities.

Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the high street and I’m extremely proud of the way our colleagues have retained Prezzo’s position as an appealing, trusted, great value food and drink experience.

“But the reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably.

“We believe the tough decisions we are making today will ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come.”

The hospitality firm fell into administration in late 2020 after the heavy impact of the pandemic, before being snapped up by current private equity owners Cain International.

This closure plan comes two years after the group previously shut 22 restaurants and cut 216 jobs.