Midhurst branch of chain restaurant is among 73 UK outlets to close

Pizza Express, which currently has 454 UK outlets, formally launched a proposal to reduce its UK restaurant estate and rental cost base via a company voluntary arrangement yesterday.

The restaurant in Midhurt’s North Street will close permanently as part of the plans.

A spokesman said the nearest branch for customers in Midhurst was in Petersfield.

The closures will affect 1,100 employees across the UK in total.

Zoe Bowley, UK&I Managing Director, said: “Unfortunately, the impact of the global pandemic has meant that we have had to make some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard PizzaExpress for the long term.

“Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently.

“In most cases, there is another PizzaExpress nearby, either already open or reopening soon, to welcome our customers.

“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.

“Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues and provide a strong footing for PizzaExpress to meet future challenges and opportunities.”