The locations of 68 Pizza Hut restaurants across Britain which will close have been revealed after the company behind its UK venues fell into insolvency. The business will also shut 11 delivery sites as part of a restructuring which will put 1,210 workers at risk of redundancy. The firm running Pizza Hut’s UK dine-in restaurants under a franchise deal, called DC London Pie, appointed administrators from corporate finance firm FTI yesterday.
It comes less than a year after the business had itself bought the chain’s restaurants from insolvency. US hospitality giant Yum! Brands, which owns the global Pizza Hut business, said it has now bought the UK restaurant operation in a pre-pack administration deal. The rescue deal will save 64 sites and secure the future of 1,277 workers. The administration comes around six weeks after HMRC filed a winding up petition against DC London Pie.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: ‘There was forward momentum for Yum! Brands, which has taken the UK dine-in Pizza Hut business back under its wing after previous owner DC London Pie fell into administration. ‘Though its restaurants footprint will be significantly decreased, with 68 outlets set to shut their doors. Fewer than half of the restaurants will continue to operate following a pre-pack administration, likely with the loss of over a thousand jobs.
‘DC London Pie had rescued Pizza Hut’s UK operations from insolvency less than a year ago, but making a success of a big-name casual dining businesses is a tough job and one which would have been made harder by increased labour costs and ongoing consumer caution.
‘Taking back the brand looks a smart move by Yum! Brands as it has decades of data about how pizza lovers like to consume and exactly what factors need to coalesce to make a location a success.’
DC London Pie was the company formed after Directional Capital, which operated franchises in Sweden and Denmark, snapped up 139 UK restaurants from the previous UK franchisee Heart with Smart Limited in January of this year.
Nicolas Burquier, managing director of Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, said: ‘This targeted acquisition aims to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible. ‘Our immediate priority is operational continuity at the acquired locations and supporting colleagues through the transition.’
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