Pizza Express restaurants in Sudbury and Ipswich to close
Two Pizza Express restaurants in Suffolk are among the 73 the chain is set to close in the UK, it has been announced.
The Italian eateries in Sudbury and Ipswich (Lloyds Avenue) are on the list of outlets the company has said it is looking to shut.
The restaurants in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket are not earmarked for closure, and have recently reopened to customers after the coronavirus lockdown.
Across the UK, this means there is a potential loss of 1,100 jobs.
A spokesman for Pizza Express said: "Obviously our focus will be on our team members whose jobs are impacted – we will be doing everything we can to redeploy them or find roles for them elsewhere.
"We are very sorry to disappoint customers who liked those pizzerias."
He said in Ipswich, there is another outlet in Regatta Quay, but the nearest restaurant to Sudbury will be Colchester.
"We would like to thank our customers for all their support," the spokesman added.
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 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.”
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.”
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