Pizza Express could permanently close some of its 470 UK restaurants: report
Fewer than ten of the chain’s venues were loss-making.
Pizza Express could through a company voluntary agreement (CVA), which would allow it to exit some or all of its loss-making sites and reach an agreement with creditors, The Mail on Sunday reported.
The publication understands that before the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, fewer than ten of the chain's UK venues were loss-making.
The crisis is said to have forced the firm to evaluate options for ensuring its future viability, with a CVA being one of several possibilities.
Pizza Express, which is owned by Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital, is already grappling with a £1.1billion debt pile, of which £665 million is owed to bondholders.
Earlier this month, credit ratings agency S&P said a debt restructuring was 'highly likely'.
Pizza Express, which employs 14,000 people globally across 627 restaurants, earlier reopened 13 of its London sites for delivery and will feature an “edited menu.”
Read the full report here.
