THE coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect across huge areas of the UK economy, but few areas felt as hard an impact as the retail and hospitality sectors.

Restaurants, pubs, bar, cafes and leisure venues were forced to shut their doors in March when the virus first struck the UK.

Venues started to reopen their doors to customers again in July but were then hamstrung by local restrictions, a 10pm curfew, new service rules and a second national lockdown in England in November.

Thousands of venues are still shut as a result of restrictions across the UK.

Meanwhile, non-essential stores were also ordered to close. As a result, the virus has helped drive a raft of already troubled dining chains towards collapse.

This week, in the second phase in the road map out of lockdown, non-essential retain and outdoor hospitality were given the green light to reopen, but for many, it is too late.

Hundreds of businesses have shut their doors for good as firms have tumbled into administration and launched dramatic restructuring deals to keep them trading.

Some have been kept alive by new owners or funding deals, while others have turned to landlord support through Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) deals to cut rents.

Here is a list of retail stores, restaurant and hospitality chains that have restructured, collapsed or been sold off and won't be reopening their doors: 

Debenhams

The 241-year-old department store, which has stores in Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, officially went into administration in April last year.

After a rescue deal with JDSports collapsed, it went into liquidation in December.

Online retailer Boohoo swooped in to buy the brand but did not take on any of its 124 stores or around 12,000 jobs staff.

In one final goodbye, Debenhams stores across the North-East have reopened their doors next week - but for one last sale.

The sale will offer up to 70 per cent off fashion and home and up to 50 per cent off beauty and fragrance lines.

After this, you can still keep shopping online at Debenhams as Boohoo plans to relaunch the site and expand its product offering. 

Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge

Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge were owned by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire when it entered administration in December.

Once the go-to store for teenagers, shops up and down the country, including in the MetroCentre, will not welcome back customers.  

ASOS bought the three branches in a £330million deal but, again, it didn’t buy the physical shops.

At the time, some 2,500 staff at 70 remaining Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge stores said they heard the news through social media.

You can still buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge products on the ASOS website.

Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Burton

Around 2,450 staff lost their jobs after clothes website Boohoo swopped in to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton for £25.2 million after Arcadia collapsed.

The deal was for the inventory, e-commerce and digital assets of the businesses and not include the brands’ 214 remaining shops. 

John Lewis (some branches)

Some 16 John Lewis stores are set to close forever after the pandemic sent the company plunging to its first ever annual loss.

The John Lewis Partnership last August that eight of 42 stores will never reopen and, in April, another eight stores will close permanently.

The group confirmed the previously announced move to scrap its staff bonus for the first time since 1953 after tumbling to a £517 million pre-tax loss for the year to January 30 against profits of £146 million the previous year.

It marked the first loss in the group’s history dating back to 1864.

Its store in Newcastle Eldon Square remains poen.

Monsoon Accessorize

The retailer, which owns branches Monsoona and Accessorize, entered administration in the first week of June last year after the pandemic threw its turnaround plan off course.

Its founder Peter Simon bought it out administration almost immediately, but 35 stores  still saw permanent closure and 545 staff were made redundant.

Included in the list of stores to close were Middlesbrough and York Davygate, with Durham and Sunderland to remain open alongside 153 others.

Oasis and Warehouse

Well-known brands Oasis and Warehouse collapsed in April last year. Leveraging the coronavirus business support, some 1,800 staff were placed on furlough and 202 were made redundant. All were ultimately lost.

The Oasis Warehouse group, which had 92 branches and 437 concessions at department stores, had been owned by failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

Boohoo swooped in again, buying the two brands and their online businesses for £5.25m in June.

But not the high-street stores.

Cath Kidston

The retro-inspired retailer tumbled into administration in April after a downturn in profitability.

The company closed all of its 60 UK stores, with the loss of 900 jobs, as the pandemic proved to be the final straw.

Months later, it said it had secured new funding from parent company Baring Private Equity Asia to return as an online-only operation.

However, the brand made a small high street comeback earlier this month following the rescue deal.

The group reopened its flagship store in London’s Piccadilly ahead of Christmas, although it said it was an “experiential” store to showcase products it will sell online.

TM Lewin

Formal menswear sales dived after the pandemic struck, weighing on already troubled retailer TM Lewin.

Early in 2020, the company was bought by Stonebridge Private Equity through its subsidiary Torque Brands.

Just two months later, the new owners revealed plans to close the 122-year-old firm’s entire network of 66 shops, with the loss of around 600 jobs.

The group said it was switching all sales to the internet in a bid to save the brand in the post-Covid retail environment.

Evans

Plus-size clothing brand Evans became the first in the Arcadia stable to be bought out of retail giant’s administration process in December.

However, the group’s £23 million takeover by Australian group City Chic did not include its bricks and mortar business.

As a result, Evans said it would not reopen its five remaining UK stores.

Mothercare

The health, beauty and baby products chain was the year’s first major casualty, shutting the doors of its UK stores for good after 59 years.

Mothercare’s UK business collapsed with the loss of 2,500 jobs and 79 stores after failing to secure a rescue deal.

The company underwent a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring in 2018, shutting a raft of stores, but tumbled into administration a year later after failing to turn around its fortunes.

Mothercare still sells its products in the UK through Boots stores and has a franchise operation overseas.

Carphone Warehouse

In March, technology retail giant Dixons Carphone wielded the axe on its Carphone Warehouse chain, closing all of its UK stores.

The move hit 531 outlets across the country and almost 3,000 workers.

However, the group said some 1,800 affected staff would be given new roles elsewhere in the business.

The company’s 70 Carphone Warehouse stores in Ireland remained open and its international operations were unaffected.

However, the move reflected a sharp decline in the Carphone Warehouse brand after its £3.8 billion “merger of equals” with Dixons in 2014.

BrightHouse

Rent-to-own company BrightHouse went bust in the first week of the first lockdown, tumbling into administration in March.

The company, which had 2,400 employees at stores across the country including in Washington, Tyne and Wear,, appointed Grant Thornton as administrator.

Iit was already struggling to stay afloat after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2018 proposed there should be a price cap on what companies like BrightHouse can charge, in a bid to protect vulnerable customers.

The watchdog said that some customers had paid up to four times the average retail price for their items due to sky-high interest rates.

A year earlier, BrightHouse had paid out nearly £15 million in redress to almost 250,000 customers after the FCA found it had not acted as a responsible lender.

Carluccio’s

The Italian dining chain tumbled into administration days after restaurants were told to shut their doors temporarily due to the virus.

The business – which was founded by Antonio Carluccio in 1991 – hired insolvency specialists in March after the impact of coronavirus exacerbated the firm’s long-standing financial difficulties.

In May, the brand and 30 of its restaurants was saved in a rescue deal by Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner owner Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), although it still resulted in 1,019 job losses at Carluccio’s.

Byron Burger

Burger chain Byron is another dining brand which had been attempting to carve out a path to recovery following a CVA deal in 2018.

However, it hired administrators from KPMG in the summer after the virus halted its turnaround.

In July, KPMG said the brand and certain assets would be sold to newly-formed company Calveton.

The move preserved the company and 20 restaurants, but resulted in 651 job losses as 31 restaurants were axed. Newcastle's site is no longer open.

Azzurri Group

The ASK Italian and Zizzi owner closed 75 of its restaurants with 1,200 job losses after collapsing into insolvency.

Zizzi owner Azzurri Group was bought by Towerbrook in a rescue deal (Tim Goode/PA)

Azzurri, which also runs the Coco di Mama food-to-go chain, was rescued in a pre-pack administration deal by investment firm TowerBrook Capital Partners.

The deal secured the future of 225 restaurants and shops, protecting 5,000 jobs.

Casual Dining Group

At the start of July, Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge owner Casual Dining Group became the latest casualty of the crisis as it confirmed it hired administrators and was shutting 91 restaurants with 1,909 job losses.

The group, which also operated Las Iguana, said it had to enter insolvency due to its “extreme operating environment”.

At the end of the month, it was bought in a rescue deal by former TGI Friday owner Epiris, which saw the restaurant group rebranded as The Big Table.

Chiquito

In March, the Mexican chain said it would slash more than three-quarters of its sites after owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) was placed into administration.

TRG said the move, which also resulted in the closure of its Food & Fuel pubs in London, would close 61 Chiquito restaurants and leave just 20 standing.

Sixty Chiquito restaurants were shut during its administration (Mike Egerton/PA)

It said insolvency was necessary after the pandemic proved the death knell for its already unprofitable sites.

Less than three months later, TRG announced a CVA deal to shut 125 of its other restaurants, including a raft of Frankie & Benny’s locations, as it sought landlord support to secure its future.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Gourmet Burger Kitchen fell into administration after South African owners Famous Brands said the virus put an end to improvements in trading it saw last year after a major restructuring process in 2018.

The group was rescued by Boparan Restaurant Group, five months after its similar deal for Carluccio’s.

Despite being saved from insolvency, the chain said it would close 26 restaurants and axe 362 roles.

Bistrot Pierre

Private equity-backed French chain Bistrot Pierre was bought in a pre-pack administration deal after struggling to secure funding during the pandemic.

Administrators concluded a sale of the business and certain assets to a connected party, Bistrot Pierre 1994 Ltd, although the move resulted in six closures and 123 redundancies.

Pizza Express

The pizza chain finally felt the pressure of its hefty debt burden in 2020 after the pandemic forced its restaurants to shut their doors.

However, the company secured its future after landlords voted in favour of CVA which resulted in 73 restaurant closures and 1,100 job losses.

The move also secured rent reductions across a raft of sites, reduced its debt by over £400 million to £319 million and secured £40 million in new cash to aid its recovery.

Pizza Hut

In September, Pizza Hut became the latest pizza chain to take the axe to its store estate to avoid collapse.

It pushed through a restructuring deal which resulted in the closure of 29 of its 244 restaurants, impacting 450 jobs.

Pizza Hut said the move would protect about 5,000 jobs across its remaining restaurants as well as the “longevity” of the business

Wahaca

Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca permanently shut the door to more than a third of its restaurants through its restructuring.

The chain, which was co-founded by former Masterchef champion Thomasina Miers, closed 10 of its restaurants after Covid-19 hammered profitability.

Yo! Sushi

Creditors for the sushi chain gave the thumbs up to a CVA deal which spelled the end of the road for 19 of its restaurants and cut around 250 jobs.

Yo Sushi said around 250 jobs were impacted by its CVA (Steve Parsons/PA)

The chain said the affected restaurants were “no longer financially viable” and had unsustainable rental costs for the current trading environment.

Itsu

Food-to-go chain Itsu turned to a CVA to secure rent cuts at 53 of its sites after sales in central London were battered by dwindling commuter numbers.

The chain, which was founded by Julian Metcalfe, said it would shut two locations as part of the move.

Wasabi

Rival food-to-go Japanese chain Wasabi also pushed through a CVA deal in the summer to protect its long-term future.

Wasabi said it secured additional funding from its investors as it received approval for rent cuts across its estate.

Leon

Healthy fast food operator Leon passed a CVA restructuring in December which secured the future of its 670 workers.

The group had planned to expand with 30 new sites in 2020 but saw growth plans halted by the pandemic, which heavily impacted its sales at city centre and travel hub locations.

Caffe Nero

The cafe chain saw creditors support its restructuring deal after it turned down a last minute takeover attempt by the billionaire brothers behind petrol forecourt giant EG Group, Zuber and Mohsin Issa.

Caffe Nero rejected the move but pushed forward with its CVA instead to secure rent cuts and changes to lease structures.

Revolution

Bar chain Revolution closed six sites permanently and cut 130 roles after its major restructuring was given the go ahead.

It said 88% of creditors supported its CVA deal, which also slashed rents at seven bar locations.