Pizza Express has announced it is closing its Weston restaurant along with 72 other branches.
The chain said it has had to make some ‘tough decisions’ to safeguard the future of Pizza Express.
Although most of its restaurants have been profitable over the past three years, bosses confirmed profits had been declining.
The chain said its rental costs were no longer sustainable due to the loss of income during lockdown, the higher costs associated with reopening the restaurants and the challenging market due to Covid-19.
The closures could result in the loss of 1,100 jobs.
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.”
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.”
The restaurant was the third unit to open in Dolphin Square in November 2017, after Luda and Nando’s.
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