Sixty-eight Pizza Hut restaurants across the UK are set to close after the company operating the chain’s dine-in venues went into administration.
The closures, stretching from Finchley Lido in London to Carlisle in Cumbria and Rhyl in north Wales, come alongside the shutdown of 11 delivery-only outlets, putting 1,210 jobs at risk.
Franchise operator DC London Pie appointed administrators from FTI Consulting on Monday. The move follows financial struggles amid changing consumer habits and rising costs.
However, the global owner, Yum! Brands — which also owns KFC and Taco Bell — stepped in with a pre-pack administration deal, acquiring 64 Pizza Hut sites and saving 1,276 jobs. These restaurants will now be operated directly by Yum.
FTI joint administrator Matt Callaghan said the deal “provides a stable platform for one of the UK’s best-known dine-in brands,” while assuring that affected staff would receive support following redundancy.
