LOCH Fyne Seafood & Grill in Downing Street will dish up its last oyster this Sunday after confirming the Farnham restaurant’s permanent closure.

A statement addressed to customers on the chain’s website reads: “We are sorry to say that the Farnham restaurant will be permanently closed from July 8 and we wanted to say thank you for being a loyal customer.”

The restaurant, which opened in 2006, also apologised to any customers with bookings after July 8, adding “a member of the team will be in touch to resolve this with you directly”.

It comes after brewing giant Greene King was reported to have put the Loch Fyne chain, which grew out of an oyster-selling business in Scotland, up for sale last month.

Loch Fyne’s converted two-storey red brick premises at 3 Downing Street is, according to Jonathon Wood’s A Portrait of Farnham, “one of Farnham’s architecturally significant houses”.

Longbridge House, as the Grade II-listed building is known historically, is believed to have been built in the early 18th century by hop grower John Chitty and later housed St Joseph’s Convent between 1902 and 1920.

In about 1930 it nearly became a cinema and, later, a dental surgery. Between 1949 and 1969 it was the headquarters of the Wey Valley Water Company.

In 1971 it was acquired by the Equity and Law Life Assurance Company and was, prior to Loch Fyne’s acquisition, the home of chartered accountants Menzies.

The restaurant chain gained planning permission from Waverley Borough Council for the building’s change of use in 2006, backed by Farnham Town Council which said in its response to the application: “We welcome the concept of a good restaurant in this location because the area currently receives low footfall.”

It is not known how many jobs will be affected by the closure but it is understood that Loch Fyne owner’s Greene King is consulting with staff over opportunities to be deployed into other Loch Fyne restaurants locally.

Confirmation of the closure comes as Greene King, the brewer and pub operator also behind Chef & Brewer and Hungry Horse, is reported to have put the chain up for sale.

The company acquired the Loch Fyne chain back in 2007 in a £68 million deal - its first move into restaurants – but it has been reported that the pub group has appointed advisers at PwC to sell off the Loch Fyne chain, in a bid to reduce its exposure to the troubled casual dining sector.

Several branches of the chain have also closed their doors over the last few months, leaving 27 restaurants.

Greene King did not mention Loch Fyne once in its annual results published last month, but did say that it will now focus on four brands – The Greene King pub brand, its country pub brand Chef & Brewer, Farmhouse Inns, and food-led brand Hungry Horse.