Pizza Express creditors back plan to close 73 restaurants and cut 1,000 jobs
Pizza Express’s creditors have approved the restaurant chain’s restructuring programme, allowing it to close 73 sites, putting 1,000 jobs at risk.
The company announced this morning that more than 89 per cent of creditors voted for its company voluntary arrangement (CVA), surpassing the 75 per cent vote needed.
The majority of landlords backed the proposals, the company said.
In a statement Pizza Express said: “As previously announced, the CVA is a key component of a wider financial restructuring which will strengthen the business for the future.
“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 announcement is the latest blow to the High Street, with retail and hospitality among the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown.
Pizza Express had been profitable at the majority of its stores before lockdown, it said, but enforced closures, the cost of reopening and the UK’s uncertain economic future had rendered the company’s rental costs unsustainable.
The company has reopened 355 restaurants in the UK, with a further 30 expected to reopen in the coming weeks.