AN Aberdeen hospitality firm is set to shut its eight businesses in the city as a result of “rapidly” rising coronavirus cases in the area.

PB Devco owns Soul Bar, College, The Queen Vice, So, Vovem Meat & Liquor, The Bieldside Inn, The Howff and So … Zen.

In a statement on Facebook, owner Stuart Clarkson said someone who had tested positive for Covid-19 had visited Soul, located on Union Street.

Photographs from the weekend showed crowds outside the Soul Bar just days after the coronavirus cluster at another city-centre pub was confirmed.

The First Minister had warned that scenes like these are “a danger”.

Clarkson said that having sought advice and following the guidance from the Scottish Government and NHS Test and Protect scheme, the company feels it is right to close all its venues until it feels safe to reopen.

READ MORE: Further 15 Covid-19 cases identified in Grampian area

Clarkson wrote: “In response to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Aberdeen, and the rapidly growing number of increased cases being reported in the news, we have made the decision to close SOUL and all the PB Devco venues with immediate effect until we feel safe to reopen.

“As soon as we heard someone who had tested positive had visited SOUL, we immediately sought advice and followed the guidance of the government, NHS and Track and Trace. However, we feel we now need to take the situation into our own hands to help limit the spread of the virus, as these are unprecedented times and things are escalating quickly.

“Unfortunately we do not have all the answers, despite our best efforts to source these. We are still awaiting confirmation on the next steps for our customers who have visited SOUL this weekend, however we urge these people to seek their own advice too. We all need to work together, as quickly as possible, to protect our city, and as a family-run business local to Aberdeen, we take this very seriously.”

The deputy director of public health for NHS Grampian has described the new cases in the area as a “significant outbreak”.

There have been 27 cases linked to the city-centre Hawthorn Bar, while today a further 15 cases were identified in the Grampian area. The First Minister has said it is currently unclear if those cases are linked to the cluster.

That venue has been “closed until further notice”.