Coronavirus: Pizza Express to close 73 restaurants with 1,100 jobs at risk
Popular chain Pizza Express upped the number of UK restaurants it is closing — to 73, from 67 — putting 1,100 jobs at risk as it implements a sweeping restructuring process to battle the impact of coronavirus.
The group said while most of its 454 restaurants have been profitable over the past three years, earnings have been declining and the impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated issues.
Pizza Express said it has also cut a deal to reduce rent costs and it has hired advisers from Lazard to lead a sale process for the business, which is majority owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital.
"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," said Zoe Bowley, Pizza Express' managing director for the UK and Ireland.
READ MORE: UK inflation surged in July as lockdown measures were eased
Hospitality has been one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Around 80% of hospitality firms stopped trading in April, with 1.4 million people in accommodation and food services furloughed, according to the Treasury, the highest of any sector.
The UK government launched the Eat Out to Help Out scheme to help the hospitality industry boost its economic recovery.
It gives diners a 50% discount at participating restaurants and pubs on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August, to a maximum of £10 per head to encourage people to eat out.
However, for some restaurants or cafes, it’s too little, too late after months of shuttered venues and no sales to help pay rent or bills.
Here are all the Pizza Express restaurants that are set to close:
Aberdeen, Belmont St
Aylesbury
Barnstaple, Three Tuns
Biggleswade
Billericay
Birmingham, Corporation St
Birmingham, Mailbox
Bournemouth, Post Office Road
Bramhall
Bristol, Berkeley Square
Bristol, Regent Street
Bromsgrove
Bruton Place, London
Charlotte Street, London
Chippenham
Dalton Park
Darlington
Dudley, Merry Hill
Earls Court, Earls Court Road, London
Edinburgh, Holyrood
Formby
Fulham Palace Road, London
Glasgow, Princes Square
Glossop
Gosforth
Grantham
Halifax
Hampstead, London
Hatch End
Hereford
Heswall
Ipswich, Lloyds Avenue
Leeds, Crown Street
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, London
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, London
Weston-super-Mare
Whiteley Village
Whitstable
Wrexham