Papa John’s confirms 43 closure locations

Papa John’s is set to close nearly a tenth of its pizza outlets in the UK in an effort to boost company profits.

A total of 43 of its 450 locations across the country have been found to be “low-performing” or “underperforming” and are said to no longer be financially viable.

The sites will be closed by mid-May after it informs impacted staff.

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, told MCA: ”Its never an easy decision, however these closures will make us a stronger brand going forward.”

In a statement, he added: “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.”

The move, Phylactou said, will allow Papa John’s to invest in “the right locations with the right partners”.

“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,” he added.

In January, it was revealed Papa John’s had closed multiple “low-performing, non-viable” franchised restaurants in the UK in the fourth quarter of 2023, with more closures planned in 2024.

According to a preliminary update from the US, the pizza brand was looking to optimize its UK business model and set up its “largest international market for long-term success”.

As a result, the company said it expected to make additional strategic restaurant closures of low-performing restaurants to drive improved profitability of the remaining stores and strengthen its franchisee base.

The company aims to close branches in the following locations: