Pizza Express could be folding.

I cannot remember the last time i bought a pizza that i didn't cook myself.



Pizza Express has reportedly hired financial advisers ahead of a meeting with lenders to review its debt situation.

The 470-store chain made losses for the last two years as its operating profits were more than offset by high interest payments on its £1.1bn debt pile.

Sales in the UK and in its 150 overseas restaurants both fell last year.

Founded in 1965, Pizza Express employs 14,000 people and is now owned by Chinese private investment firm Hony.

-------------------------------

To be clear, Pizza Express is not in imminent danger of going bust. It has until 2021 before it needs to start paying back £600m to its outside creditors. (The other £500m is a loan from its Chinese owners).

But debt is a serial company killer - just ask Carillion or Thomas Cook. It can suffocate a company, so the earlier you try and address the issue the better.

Bonds in Pizza Express are selling for 84p for every £1 worth of loan. That means that investors do not think those lenders will get all their money back.

The casual dining sector is littered with names which have been through some sort of insolvency process. Prezzo, Byron, Carluccio's needed to close stores and ask creditors to agree to rent reductions, while Jamie's Italian went bust.

If Pizza Express is going to last another 50 years some sort of debt restructuring looks inevitable. Getting it done in a brutal high street environment will not be straightforward.

Read in full https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49957551

Probably a result of all those deliveroo type companies

thank goodness for that. fed up with huge mediocre chains cluttering up the high streets and retail parks.

If places can't deliver really good food, they should close down.

MyQul said:

Probably a result of all those deliveroo type companies

Click to expand...

Pizza Express is on Just Eat and I think Deliveroo, I got them on one of the delivery services, was terrible! Tiny pizza for a lot of money. It was definitely different to the pizza I've had in their restaurants.

jceg316 said:

Pizza Express is on Just Eat and I think Deliveroo, I got them on one of the delivery services, was terrible! Tiny pizza for a lot of money. It was definitely different to the pizza I've had in their restaurants.

Click to expand...

Aren't the 'kitchens' just shipping containers out in the middle of nowhere? With the cooks working in almost unbearable conditions. I'm sure I read some such in a Sunday newspaper once

MyQul said:

Aren't the 'kitchens' just shipping containers out in the middle of nowhere? With the cooks working in almost unbearable conditions. I'm sure I read some such in a Sunday newspaper once

Click to expand...

I seem to remember the same report recently i feel sorry for those that may lose their job but as the report says they have 2 years to get out if they think its going to end badly.

MyQul said:

Probably a result of all those deliveroo type companies

Click to expand...

Much like Thornton's they de-valued their brand by putting their products in the supermarkets. Most of the restaurants are likely to go, but they will stay on the shelves.

I do enjoy their pizzas. The Sloppy Giuseppe is ace.

MyQul said:

Aren't the 'kitchens' just shipping containers out in the middle of nowhere? With the cooks working in almost unbearable conditions. I'm sure I read some such in a Sunday newspaper once

Click to expand...

Most the time no, but can't speak for how Pizza Express operates. I've heard of some companies which do set up just to be used on Deliveroo, and do operate out of kitchens only (seen some interesting stuff on this!). Just Eat is a different business model and would be surprised if this happened on their platform.

Brew_DD2 said:

Much like Thornton's they de-valued their brand by putting their products in the supermarkets. Most of the restaurants are likely to go, but they will stay on the shelves.

I do enjoy their pizzas. The Sloppy Giuseppe is ace.

Click to expand...

At a guess, this de-valuation of brand is traded the 'blanket coverage' you get by being in a supermarket.

MyQul said:

At a guess, this de-valuation of brand is traded the 'blanket coverage' you get by being in a supermarket.

Click to expand...

Oh definitely. It's a really difficult balance, but I can understand why they do it.

Brew_DD2 said:

Oh definitely. It's a really difficult balance, but I can understand why they do it.

Click to expand...

The thing is, supermarkets are notorious for squeezing their suppliers. I imagine people like Thorntons have to sell a lot of choccies to make a profit after Tesco/Sainsburys/ etc take their cut. I wonder if it's worth it? Or maybe they've decided to do a deal with the devil as they can see the way the high street is is going and see this as the only option to survive?

There is no simple solution for them. It's an outmoded model. Chains on High Streets are largely dead, unless they sell fast food and drink.

Brew_DD2 said:

Much like Thornton's they de-valued their brand by putting their products in the supermarkets. Most of the restaurants are likely to go, but they will stay on the shelves.

I do enjoy their pizzas. The Sloppy Giuseppe is ace.

Click to expand...

yup hotel chocolate is what thorntons used to be, the quality on thorntons has gone down. if we are ever given thorntons we pass 'em on quick

Slightly odd business model Pizza Express, I don't think I've ever eaten a meal there without either trading in Tesco points to pay for the meal (essentially making the food element free to me) or having some sort of 2 for 1 token. The actual menu prices are quite high. Half the menu prices, do away with the promotions / tokens etc. and I'm sure they'd get a lot more casual diners. For me it's a place that I would just consider walking into off the street for a meal with getting a deal sorted first.

They also need to sort out their staff, some places are very good, others terrible. We waited ages in one particular branch for our food, had to keep asking where it was. The table next to us managed to get seated served and leave between our starters and mains though was only a Dad and kid sharing a pizza.

Thing is we do like going there sometimes as it works well for us with young kids. If we didn't have them the we probably wouldn't bother.

Back in the late 70's and early 80's Pizza Express used to make excellent Pizzas, that were generously sized, for a reasonable price. Slowly they morphed into smaller and smaller pizzas, which cost more and more. They became notorious for poorly paid servers, so everything they initially stood for, good service, good pizzas and good prices was eroded.
Penny pinching took over from passion. This is no surprise. Why would I pay them a load of money for an average pizza, when I can pay a decent Pizza restaurant a load of money for an excellent pizza? Yes I appreciate I can make it much cheaper at home, but if I'm out for an evening with friends, and they want to eat and eat pizza there are many better choices for the money in London.

I think a lot of opinions here sum up why it's struggling: not worth the money, especially when there are better places to go. I quite like the place, but I'd choose Franco Manca any day.

I've personally don't buy from these mega chains but like CT mentioned the workers who will most likely lose they're jobs I feel sorry for...typical high paid directors who only thin of they're own pockets who can't even direct themselves let alone massive companies.....

I prefer to make my own from scratch at least you know what goes in it

Pizza express folds, does that mean calzone express instead?

cheeseyfeet said:

Pizza express folds, does that mean calzone express instead?

Click to expand...

I wondered how long it would take someone to comment on the pun.

Pizza express is owned by Chinese firm ‎Hony Capital