There's more worrying news in the restaurant sector after the owner of food chains Bella Italia and Café Rouge posted a sharp increase in losses.

Casual Dining Group said losses to May 2017 increased 18% to £60m, despite a 2.2% rise in like-for-like sales, the BBC has reported.

Bella Italia has restaurants at Gloucester Quays and Cheltenham Promenade while Café Rouge also has a restaurant on The Prom.

The group said it had faced challenging conditions "due to consumer confidence levels and the broader impact on discretionary spending".

The firm also said it had seen a "significant" rise in costs, which included the introduction of the National Living Wage and the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and increased Employer's Pension Contributions.

It has also been hit by food and drink cost inflation driven by the devaluation of the pound and revaluation of business rates and rent increases, particularly in central London.

The £60m loss included an exceptional cost of £24.4m related to additional financing arranged during the financial year.

Total sales for the year were £329m, up 10% due to new site openings and sales growth from existing sites, the BBC said.

Casual Dining is one of the UK's largest restaurant groups, employing more than 10,000 people across 300 locations.

The group said it had opened seven new UK sites in the past nine months, and planned further expansion.

A string of chains including Jamie's Italian and Byron have closed outlets recently amid financial difficulties.

Earlier this month pizza chain Prezzo became the latest to cut back, closing 94 outlets including its Tex-Mex chain Chimichanga, which has a restaurant at Gloucester Quays.

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