(BBC News) – A US fast-food chain will cease trading at its first UK outlet amid a row over donations to [so-called] anti-LGBT groups.

Gay rights campaigners called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A, which opened its first branch at The Oracle shopping centre in Reading on 10 October.

A spokeswoman for the centre said “the right thing to do” was to not extend the restaurant’s lease beyond the “six-month pilot period”.

Chick-fil-A said its donations were purely focused on youth and education.

The family-owned company, founded in Atlanta in 1967, is one of the biggest fast-food chains in the USA and boasts about 2,400 outlets across North America.

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The Oracle, which is owned by a joint venture of Hammerson plc and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, stated about the non-lease renewal: “We always look to introduce new concepts for our customers, however, we have decided on this occasion that the right thing to do is to only allow Chick-Fil-A to trade with us for the initial six-month pilot period, and not to extend the lease any further.”

A number of comments on The Oracle’s public Facebook page show negative recommendations as a result of the decision.

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