Papa John’s has confirmed today that it has closed 74 branches of its pizza takeaway outlets across the UK. The company said that it had been facing heavy financial struggles in the last 12 months.
The company announced that its losses before tax rose to 21.8 million pounds, which is up from 19.2 million pounds the previous year. The sales of the company also dropped from 95.9 million pounds to 88.6 million pounds.
The company further added today that it has been experiencing a continued decline in sales since its last profit of £ 8.1 million in 2021. At that period, the sales were 102.3 million pounds.
The UK arm of the American pizza behemoth had 457 UK locations by the end of the financial year. As per the company, the closures of 74 stores are due to geographical issues, staff shortage, and rising costs.
Despite the loss, the company still managed to open 7 new stores in the previous year.
Papa John’s statement said that in 2024, they continued to navigate the effects of global disruption, ongoing geopolitical issues, staffing shortages, and rising in commodity costs.
The company added that there was an improvement in consumer confidence; however, that remains below pre-pandemic levels, with consumers most cost-conscious and more risk-averse.
Papa John’s told its investors last January that it plans to close its underperforming restaurants to boost profits.
By March of the previous year, the company declared that 43 outlets would shut down following a consultation process, and the closures were set for mid-May. The company has now revealed that 31 stores were shut down in the previous year.
Despite the closures and falling losses, Papa John’s UK managing director Chris Phylactou still remains optimistic about the company’s future. He said the business is now “no longer losing money” and is likely to return to its profit in the current year.
The UK’s second-largest pizza takeaway chain, Papa John’s, said its priority remains supporting the jobless staff.
The UK managing director said that their priority is their team members, who will be completely supported throughout this closure process. He further added that their priority is to work with the affected team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available.
The company is still operating more than 400 outlets across the United Kingdom. The company said that it plans to invest in technologies and customer data, and will explore non-traditional venues such as holiday parks to boost its brand across the UK.
