Pizza express axes 73 stores to stay afloat in wake of coronavirus shutdown

18 August 2020, 22:35

By Kate Buck

Pizza Express has announced the closure of 73 restaurants across the UK with the loss of 1,100 jobs as the Covid-19 shutdown continues to wreak havoc.

The company, which currently has around 454 restaurants in the UK, said on Tuesday it has finalised a proposal to reduce its restaurant and rental costs via a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

It said that although the majority of its restaurants were profitable before lockdown was imposed, earnings had been declining across the Pizza Express estate for the last three years.

It added that the reduction in revenue caused by the enforced closure of all restaurants, the cost of reopening and the UK's uncertain economic future meant its rental costs were no longer sustainable.

Pizza Express, which is majority owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, also confirmed it had hired advisers from Lazard to lead a sale process for the business.

It is expected to lose around 1,100 jobs. Picture: PA

It said it would hold a virtual meeting for its creditors on September 4 to seek approval for the measures set out in the CVA.

Zoe Bowley, Pizza Express's managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: "Unfortunately, the impact of the global pandemic has meant that we have had to make some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard Pizza Express for the long term.

"Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently."

Ms Bowley said that in most cases, the stores selected for closure are near to another Pizza Express that has already reopened or will be reopening soon.

She added: "Our focus is on our people whose jobs are impacted and we will be doing everything we can either to redeploy them or to support them in finding roles elsewhere.

"Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues and provide a strong footing for Pizza Express to meet future challenges and opportunities."

Coronavirus lockdown has claimed 650,000 UK jobs since March - ONS

Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: "These situations are never easy, particularly now for the retail, hospitality and leisure businesses on our high streets at the sharp end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Property owners, however, need to take into consideration the impact on their investors, including the millions of people whose savings and pensions are invested in commercial property, as they vote on any CVA proposal."

Full list of stores closing

Aberdeen - Belmont Street
Aylesbury
Barnstaple - Three Tuns
Biggleswade
Billericay
Birmingham - Corporation Street
Birmingham - Mailbox
Bournemouth - Post Office Road
BramhallBristol - Berkeley Square
Bristol - Regent Street
Bromsgrove
Bruton Place
Charlotte Street
Chippenham
Dalton Park
Darlington
Dudley - Merry Hill
Earls Court - Earls Court Road
Edinburgh - Holyrood
Formby
Fulham Palace Road
Glasgow – Princes Square
Glossop
Gosforth
Grantham
Halifax
Hampstead
Hatch End
Hereford
Heswall
Ipswich - Lloyds Avenue
Leeds - Crown Street
Leeds - Horsforth
Ludlow
Lymington
Melton Mowbray
Midhurst
Milton Keynes
Moseley
New Brighton
Newcastle
Newport - Isle of Wight
Newport - South Wales
Northallerton
Nottingham - Goosegate
O2 Finchley
Orpington
Oxford - Oxford Castle
Poole
Port Solent
Ramsgate
Reading - St Mary's
Butts
Scarborough
Sheffield - Devonshire Street
Sheffield
The Moor
Shirley
Southport - Old Bank
Stafford
Staines
Stoke
Stourbridge
Sudbury
Torquay
Uxbridge
Wakefield
Walsall
Wapping
Wardour Street
Weston-super-Mare
Whiteley Village
Whitstable
Wrexham