Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner will close 27 restaurants after a restructuring plan gained approval, triggering hundreds of job losses.

Around 340 of 1,300 staff are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the move.

Creditors have thrown a lifeline to the casual dining brands by voting through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which will also give the chains rent reductions on 13 sites.

Will Wright, restructuring partner at KPMG and joint supervisor of the CVA, said: "This is a critical step forward for the business, allowing Giraffe Concepts to complete its financial restructuring plan and embark on a comprehensive operational transformation programme."

The business, which is owned by Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), first proposed the plans earlier this month.

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Tom Crowley, CEO of BRG said: "We are pleased to announce that the CVA has been approved and we can now begin to execute our plan. We thank our creditors who have supported the business through this process."

The company said that although like-for-like sales had improved at the brands since they were acquired, several sites remained unprofitable.

The Herald: Persimmon said sales up 45 per cent

Housebuilder Persimmon has launched a scheme to allow buyers to withhold an average of £3,600 per home until all faults are resolved.

The retention offer - expected to launch by the end of June - allows 1.5 pser cent of the total home value, or 6% of build fabric costs, to be held by the buyer's solicitor.

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Roger Devlin, Persimmon's chairman, said: "This is a first among the UK's large housebuilders and I hope will lead the way in change across the sector."

Insurer Royal London has hailed record operating profits of £396 million for 2018, up 20 per cent on the previous year.

Profits were boosted by its asset management arm, which saw net external inflows of £4.1 billion, up from £2.8bn in 2017, while funds under management held firm at £114bn despite "volatile" markets.

But overall pre-tax profits were 41% lower at £351 million. It said life and pensions new business sales remained "strong", but shrunk to £11.3bn from £12bn in 2017 as the roll out of workplace pension auto-enrolment came to an end.