Nando's has been forced to close dozens of restaurants across the UK due to shortages of the chain's signature peri peri chicken.

Nando's is the latest in a series of UK companies to see its supply chain strained by a shortage of workers. Last week, the chain was forced to close 45 outlets across England, Wales and Scotland.

According to a spokesperson from Nando’s, the primary bottleneck was at UK chicken distributors, which have warned in recent weeks that Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic have seriously limited production.

Many UK food producers and restaurants have struggled to recruit workers adding stress to supply chains that were already strained by Brexit.

The isolation rules have added further challenges as thousands of workers were forced to isolate having come into contact with someone who had been infected with Covid-19. The new rules will hopefully reduce this, but other factors will remain.

A shortage of truck drivers, farm workers and processing plant workers has contributed to supply disruption.

The British Poultry Council said in early August that worker shortages are widespread, with farming and processing businesses reporting an average job vacancy rate of 16%. Weekly chicken production has reduced by up to 10%.