Pizza Hut confirms it's closing 29 restaurants across the UK

9 September 2020, 14:58 | Updated: 9 September 2020, 15:02

Pizza Hut is closing 29 of it's restaurants. Picture: Getty Images

Pizza Express will permanently close 29 of its 244 sites in the UK.

High street chain Pizza Hut has confirmed it will be closing 29 of its 244 UK restaurants, putting 450 jobs at risk.

Bosses are currently negotiating a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal after facing ‘significant disruption’ during the pandemic.

With lockdown causing sales to plunge, things are not expected to fully bounce back for the chain ‘until well into 2021’.

A spokeswoman said: “We are committed to doing the right thing and, in order to secure as many jobs as possible and continue serving our communities, we are working to reach an agreement with our creditors.

Pizza Hut has lost money during the pandemic. Picture: PA Images

"While we are likely to see 29 Hut closures and 450 job losses, any measures we take aim to protect about 5,000 jobs at our remaining 215 restaurants, as well as the longevity of the business.”

They added: “We understand this is a difficult time for everyone involved.

“We appreciate the support of our business partners and are doing everything we can to help our team members during this process, including speaking with those affected by the consultation.”

The group has 244 sites in England, Scotland and Wales owned by one franchisee, which employs 5,700 staff.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? contestant loses £31,000

It is currently unknown which restaurants will be affected, but the company added it will not affect operations or jobs at Pizza Hut Delivery which have a different owner.

This comes just days after Pizza Express announced the closure of 73 of their restaurants, which will potentially cut up to 1,100 jobs.

The chain currently has 454 restaurants across the UK but is making the cuts in a bid to stay afloat in the wake of the pandemic.

Pizza Express is closing 73 branches across the UK. Picture: PA Images

Zoe Bowley, Pizza Express's managing director for the UK and Ireland, said in a statement on Tuesday: "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.

"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."

Now Read: Parents in the UK spend nine days a year trying to get their kids to bed, research finds