A Bicester restaurant has closed down as its chain has revealed plans to shut a raft of sites as part of a major restructuring.

Italian diner Wildwood based at Pioneer Square in the town centre of Bicester has confirmed to the Oxford Mail that it is no longer open, and the restaurant has been taken off the company’s website.

Tasty, which also runs sites under the Dim T brand, said it plans to close around 20 loss-making restaurants after a “challenging” start to the year.

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The restructuring plan would see the group shut 18 of these restaurants, with two of these sites already closed to customers. 

There are two other Wildwood sites in Oxfordshire, which include one in Didcot and Wantage, but it has not disclosed the locations of the rest of the sites earmarked for closure

It is still unclear if staff will be relocated to its other remaining locations.

Tasty currently has 43 Wildwood restaurants in operation, six Dim-T pan-Asian restaurants, two non-trading sites and three sub-let venues.

On Tuesday (April 9), the hospitality group said its financial performance “continues to be inhibited by a tail of underperforming sites, despite efforts at improving operational performance”.

The company added: “The use of a restructuring plan is considered the most effective means to reorganise the group to return it to profitability and secure its long-term future which should change the financial viability, profitability profile and long-term prospects of the group.”

It will also enter into a new £750,000 loan agreement with Bet365 shareholder Will Roseff in order to fund the restructuring.

Tasty’s bosses said they expect the plan will improve earnings by up to £2.1 million by the 2025 financial year, particularly through the restaurant closures and other cost savings.

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The group said it expects to operate around 30 restaurants by the end of the current year.

The proposals are to be circulated to Tasty’s creditors before a court hearing expected later this month.

On Tuesday, Tasty added that it expects to confirm revenues of around £46.9 million for 2023, up from £44 million in 2022.

It has also trimmed its earnings loss to £900,000 last year from a £2.7 million loss a year earlier.

The group has made “reasonable progress” so far this year “despite difficult recent trading conditions”.

It comes as other restaurant chains have struggled in recent times during the cost of living crisis.

After struggling in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants were hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.

Last month, Pizza giant Papa Johns confirmed it would shut down 43 of its stores.

The US-based company, which has more than 450 restaurants across the UK, said the move comes as part of efforts to bolster its performance in the country.