The company behind restaurant brands including Richoux and Villagio has entered administration, with 147 jobs lost.

Dining Street together with its subsidiaries Richoux and Newultra operated 15 site in London and the south of England.

It follows a number of other businesses to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Its other brands included Zintino, Friendly Phil’s, and Broadwick.

All of the group’s restaurants have been closed for dine-in services since 20 December due to lockdown, though a handful continued to provide takeaway and delivery services. These have now ceased.

Uncertainty around reopening and the burden of ongoing costs while closed meant the directors had to appoint administrators.

KPMG is now exploring a sale of the business.

Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “The current plight of the UK’s hospitality sector cannot be underestimated.

“Despite the breadth of support packages available, the reality is that the latest lockdown measures have proven to be a hammer blow for many businesses which, like the Dining Street group of companies, continue to accrue creditor liabilities while seeing little to no revenues coming in.

“The group had a number of popular brands and outlets, and so we are currently exploring options for a sale of the business and its assets. We would like to invite any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.

“We are also working with the group’s employees as a matter of priority, to provide them with all the assistance they need in claiming monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.”