Popular pizza chain shuts down 74 locations across the UK

The popular chain suffered severe financial difficulties

The UK arm of the iconic American fast food chain experienced pre-tax losses of £21.8million in the latest financial year. 

Additionally, Papa John's revenue has also taken a hit, with the government website Companies House showing a drop in revenue from £95.9million to £88.6million.

The last time the chain achieved a pre-tax profit was 4 years ago in 2021, when it recorded £8.1m, per The Mirror.

Over a year, 74 Papa John's pizza outlets have closed their doors. However, the official news was only confirmed today (4 August).

A Papa John's spokesperson has said: "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," per The Mirror.

However, the news doesn't come as much of a surprise as in March last year, Papa John's announced it would be shutting down 43 'underperforming' restaurants across the UK, which made up nearly a tenth of its total stores.

Managing director, Chris Phylactou, had 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."

Mr Phylactou continued, "While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will allow us to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.

"We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well-positioned for the future.

"We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives."

Papa John's has announced it has plans to invest more in research and technology, including utilising customer data, as part of its UK strategy.

Further, the pizza chain will look into the development of new types of sites, such as the expansion into holiday parks, rather than merely sticking to traditional restaurants.