A popular pizza chain which has grown to become a staple on the British high street has announced that it is closing 74 stores following its recent financial struggles. The UK arm of American pizza takeaway giant Papa Johns announced a pre-tax loss of £21.8 million for its latest financial year last month, citing various factors including rising costs and “geopolitical issues”.
It follows a £19.2 million loss reported by the chain the year before. Newly filed accounts on Companies House also show Papa Johns’ revenue has slipped from £ 95.9 million to £ 88.6 million, as per City AM.
The company hasn’t seen a pre-tax profit in the UK since 2021, when it recorded £8.1 million and a turnover of £102.3 million.
The chain closed 74 restaurants over the course of the year, with the closures confirmed Monday.
It is unclear how many staff at the affected branches will be impacted by the closures.
However, it also opened seven, ending the 2024 financial year with 457 branches, down from 524.
Papa Johns said in a statement: “In 2024 we continued to navigate the effects of global disruption; ongoing geopolitical issues, staffing shortages and rises in commodity costs.
“Whilst there was an improvement in consumer confidence, this remains below pre-pandemic levels with consumers more cost-conscious and more risk averse.”
Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, previously said: “Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process.
“Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available.
“We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.”
However, Papa Johns’ managing director says the company is “no longer losing money” due to the “difficult decisions” they had to make, and is on track to report a profit.
Speaking to City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered, he said: “Having people lose their jobs is the last option for us. We tried everything to keep the restaurants open.”
“It’s never an easy decision and something that I wasn’t happy doing, but it’s something that we had to do as a brand,” he added.
He went on to say that despite handing on to the stores “probably longer than we should have” and doing their best to keep them operating their performance meant there was “no business case to keep them open”.
Papa Johns didn’t provide a breakdown of the 74 stores that were shut for good, however 43 of them were known to have closed over the period following a consultation process.