Fishmonger-cum-restaurant chain FishWorks is to carry out a root-and-branch overhaul of its 12 restaurants after the revelation last week losses have almost trebled in the past six months.

Losses for the six months to the end of January leapt to £740,807 from £248,403 in the same period the year before, despite turnover rising to £6.18m from £2.8m.

Chief executive Mitchell Tonks blamed the wider losses on the chain’s rapid expansion but conceded the first half of the year had been a “disappointment”.

He said the chain would now be looking at the future of each site individually, in effect, an admission that things up to now have not been run as tightly as they might have.

“We are assessing the viability of each site to the group and are currently reviewing the offer at restaurant level, which will include menu, staffing structure and some superficial changes to the look of the restaurants,” he said.

Better training and more robust financial controls were also being put in place, he added.

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By Nic Paton

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