Carluccio's is to revamp 60 of its restaurants, as part of a £10m investment by Dubai-based owner Landmark Group.
The UK portfolio will be cut from 103 to 73 outlets under the terms of a company voluntary arrangement agreed by its landlords.
Mark Jones, who took over as chief executive in January, said the refurb scheme would enable the group to “reassert and build on” its position as a leading Italian restaurant company.
For the year ending 24 September 2017, Carluccios saw pre-tax earnings almost halved to £6.5m, while group revenues fell by £2.7m to £138.2m.