Beer maker Heineken is slashing 8,000 jobs worldwide after a coronavirus-caused slump in sales.
The Dutch giant has been hit hard by the forced closure of pubs and clubs during the pandemic.
It came as restaurant chain Prezzo was placed into administration after failing to reach agreement with landlords on rent payments.
Private equity owner Cain International immediately bought back the bulk of the business through what is called a pre-pack arrangement.
It saved 2,900 jobs but 22 restaurants will close with 216 redundancies.
Jonathan Goldstein, chief executive of Cain International, said: “We firmly believe that strong hospitality businesses, such as Prezzo, have a bright future and will play an essential role in reviving the UK economy.
“However, to do so we must get through this current crisis of mounting liabilities and no revenues."
Heineken boss Dolf van den Brink announced his major shake-up as the Amstel and Birra Moretti brewer swung to a near £180million loss for 2020 due to the pandemic, after achieving a £1.9billion profit the previous year.
Revenues dived 17% over the year after pubs, bars and eateries closed their doors. Beer volumes tumbled by 8.1%.
A Heineken UK spokeswoman said: “The closure of pubs in March and subsequent restrictions, including over the Christmas period, have had an impact on sales volumes of beer and cider for the full year.
“While we experienced an increase in volumes in the off-trade, it in no way made up for loss of volume in the on-trade.”
Heineken said it expected fewer than 100 jobs would be shed in Britain.
