Papa John's confirms 74 outlets closed across UK as chain hit difficulties
Papa John's has today confirmed it has closed 74 of its pizza takeaway outlets in the UK due to severe financial struggles in the last 12 months.
The UK arm of the American pizza behemoth d isclosed a pre-tax loss of £21.8 million for its latest financial year, compounding a £19.2 million loss reported in 2023, as per City AM.
Newly filed accounts with Companies House show that the company's revenue also took a hit, dropping from £95.9 million to £88.6 million. The specific locations of the Papa John's outlets set for closure have not been disclosed.
The last time Papa John's saw a pre-tax profit in the UK was in 2021, when it posted £8.1 million, along with a turnover of £102.3 million during the same period.
A statement approved by the board read: "In 2024 we continued to navigate the effects of global disruption; ongoing geopolitical issues, staffing shortages and rises in commodity costs."
It added: "Whilst there was an improvement in consumer confidence, this remains below pre-pandemic levels with consumers more cost-conscious and more risk averse."
Over the course of the year, the chain shut down 74 restaurants but opened seven new ones, ending 2024 with 457 Papa John's locations across the UK, a decrease from 524. Despite the closures, Papa John's is hopeful about returning to profitability in 2025.
Following a challenging period that saw the closure of more than 40 outlets last year, UK managing director Chris Phylactou disclosed on City AM's Boardroom Uncovered programme that the company has ceased losing money and is positioned to deliver its first UK profit since 2021.
During the programme, Phylactou declared that the division is "no longer losing money" and anticipates turning a profit by 2025.
"That's because of the difficult decisions we made back then" he explained. "Having people lose their jobs is the last option for us. We tried everything to keep the restaurants open."
He continued: "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."
"We maintained the restaurants probably longer than we should have to safeguard the workforce for as long as possible.
"And we put a lot of effort into trying those trying to turn those businesses around.
"However, regrettably, they were in the wrong locations and the restaurant performance was extremely poor. So there was no business case to keep them open."
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