YO! Sushi confirms 19 restaurant closures and 250 job cuts

Sushi chain Yo! today confirmed it is to shut 19 restaurants and cut up to 250 jobs after the group had a CVA approved by its creditors.

The company said the CVA would enable YO! to make essential changes to its restaurant portfolio and adapt to the lasting challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Deloitte is supervising the CVA

Richard Hodgson, chief executive of YO!, said: “These are exceptionally challenging times for our sector and we are pleased that our creditors have supported us in today’s vote.

"This will ensure YO! has a solid foundation to continue to adapt to the changes brought about by Covid-19, and allows us to focus on reopening remaining sites and rolling out our new restaurant model.

“I know this has been a difficult time for many of our team members and once again I want to thank everyone for their hard work and support throughout this process.”

Yo! explained that the sites earmarked for closure are “no longer financially viable” and have unsustainable rental costs in the current trading environment.

The group shut its sites temporarily in the face of the pandemic in March, before starting to reopen sites last month with a new model in place to deliver food to customers in line with safety regulations.

Meals at its restaurants are now sent directly to customers on belts with a traffic light system after its previous conveyor belt model was thwarted by new safety guidelines.