02 March 2024 , 10:04
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Pizza chain Papa John's will shut 50 of its "underperforming" shops in the UK - despite rising sales towards the end of last year
The company, which has over 450 restaurants said it's trying to improve on British shores. The company rounded off 2023 on a high, making more than $1. 3billion (£1 billion) in the last three months. It equated to 10% more than the year before, reports Wales Online.
Papa John's is the UK's second largest pizza takeaway brand - sitting behind Domino's Papa John's currently owns 118 branches and has 406 franchise stores.
The first UK Papa Johns stores opened in Essex in 1999 and in 2013 it opened it's 200 UK store. Papa John closed 22 branches over the last year but at the same time opened 15 new sites.
However, CEO Rob Lynch said the company needs to make more money in the UK and make their pizza shops stronger, even though sales are starting rise. A spokeswoman from Papa John's said: "As our second largest global market, Papa Johns remains committed to driving growth in the UK.
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"As mentioned in January, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of our UK-based restaurants to assess viability. Based on our current analysis, we are planning to close approximately 50 underperforming corporate-owned locations.
"The strategic closure of these restaurants would give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners; optimising the brand for long-term growth." Papa John's mentioned they are looking after their team, and said they will "be the first to know" about any shops that might close. "For any proposed restaurant closures that impact team members, we will work to find alternative roles within Papa John's," added a spokesperson from the company.
It comes after the news that Revolution bars will close eight of their branches as their young target audience is feeling the strain of the cost-of-living crisis. The sites which are set to close were classed as "unprofitable" by the group.