Pizza Express to close 73 restaurants putting 1,100 jobs at risk, after turnaround plans approved
Landlords back restaurant chain’s rescue plans that will see rents and jobs cut
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Your support makes all the difference.Pizza Express is to go ahead with plans to close 73 restaurants across the UK with the loss of up to 1,100 jobs after creditors voted in favour of a restructuring deal on Monday.
The struggling restaurant chain said 89 per cent of creditors backed its Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposals, which include reductions in rent.
Pizza Express joins Zizzi, Frankie & Benny’s and Byron Burger among the ranks of chains that have shut branches after sales slumped during lockdown.
The turnaround plans will see Pizza Express halve its huge £735m debt pile to £319m with around £144m of new funding set to be available to invest in growth.
Pizza Express said it has 355 restaurants open in the UK, with more than 30 due to reopen in the coming weeks.
Last month, Pizza Express said the burden of missed sales during lockdown, additional costs to reopen and an uncertain economic outlook, meant it could no longer afford the rent bill on its restaurants.
In a statement, Pizza Express said: "The successful vote unlocks the company's ability to actively address the challenges brought by Covid-19, securing over 9,000 jobs in the UK.
"Regrettably, the CVA proposes the closure of 73 restaurants, putting 1,100 jobs at risk.
"The directors of Pizza Express thank its creditors for their support during this period and look forward to ongoing partnership as the hospitality industry recovers to growth."
The following sites have been earmarked for permanent closure:
Aberdeen - Belmont St
Aylesbury
Barnstaple - Three Tuns
Biggleswade
Billericay
Birmingham - Corporation St
Birmingham - Mailbox
Bournemouth - Post Office Rd
Bramhall
Bristol - Berkeley Sq
Bristol - Regent St
Bromsgrove
Bruton Place
Charlotte St
Chippenham
Dalton Park
Darlington
Dudley - Merry Hill
Earls Court - Earls Ct Rd
Edinburgh - Holyrood
Formby
Fulham Palace Road
Glasgow - Princes Square
Glossop
Gosforth
Grantham
Halifax
Hampstead
Hatch End
Hereford
Heswall
Ipswich - Lloyds Ave
Leeds - Crown St
Leeds - Horsforth
Ludlow
Lymington
Melton Mowbray
Midhurst
Milton Keynes - Hub
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 St
Sheffield The Moor
Shirley
Southport - Old Bank
Stafford
Staines
Stoke
Stourbridge
Sudbury
Torquay
Uxbridge
Wakefield
Walsall
Wapping
Wardour St
Weston-super-Mare
Whiteley Village
Whitstable
Wrexham
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