Two Pizza Express restaurants in Suffolk are set to close as the chain continues to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The national chain’s outlets in Ipswich’s Lloyds Avenue and Sudbury will not be reopening their doors – alongside another 71 restaurants across the country, at a cost of 1,100 jobs.
The company, which currently has around 454 restaurants, said it has finalised a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), despite the majority of its stores remaining profitable before lockdown was imposed.
It has however seen earnings decline across its estate for the past three years.
Chinese majority owners Hony Capital also confirmed it had hired advisers from Lavard to lead the sale of the business.
A virtual meeting with creditors is set to take place on September 4.
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.
“Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently.”
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