Bosses at Pizza Express are to push forward with plans to shut 73 restaurants and cut about 1,100 jobs after restructuring plans were approved by creditors.

The company has become the latest dining chain to shut sites after revenues dived following the enforced closure of its restaurants in March.

Currently (as of September 7, 2020), Pizza Express has 355 sites open, with more than 30 other sites set to reopen in the coming weeks.

It is the latest in a raft of chains, including Zizzi-owner Azzurri Group, Byron Burger, and Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group, to shut sites after being hit by the lockdown.

What have Pizza Express said?

In a statement, Pizza Express said: “The successful vote unlocks the company’s ability to actively address the challenges brought by Covid-19, securing over 9,000 jobs in the UK.

“The directors of Pizza Express thank its creditors for their support during this period and look forward to ongoing partnership as the hospitality industry recovers to growth.”

The company, which is majority-owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, also confirmed last month that it had hired advisers from Lazard to lead a sale process for the business.

FULL LIST: The following sites have been earmarked for permanent closure:

  • Aberdeen – Belmont St
  • Aylesbury
  • Barnstaple – Three Tuns
  • Biggleswade
  • Billericay
  • Birmingham – Corporation St
  • Birmingham – Mailbox
  • Bournemouth – Post Office Rd
  • Bramhall
  • Bristol – Berkeley Sq
  • Bristol – Regent St
  • Bromsgrove
  • Bruton Place
  • Charlotte St
  • Chippenham
  • Dalton Park
  • Darlington
  • Dudley – Merry Hill
  • Earls Court – Earls Ct Rd
  • Edinburgh – Holyrood
  • Formby
  • Fulham Palace Road
  • Glasgow – Princes Square
  • Glossop
  • Gosforth
  • Grantham
  • Halifax
  • Hampstead
  • Hatch End
  • Hereford
  • Heswall
  • Ipswich – Lloyds Ave
  • Leeds – Crown St
  • Leeds – Horsforth
  • Ludlow
  • Lymington
  • Melton Mowbray
  • Midhurst
  • Milton Keynes – Hub
  • Moseley
  • New Brighton
  • Newcastle
  • Newport – Isle of Wight
  • Newport – South Wales
  • Northallerton
  • Nottingham – Goosegate
  • O2 Finchley
  • Orpington
  • Oxford – Oxford Castle
  • Poole
  • Port Solent
  • Ramsgate
  • Reading – St Mary’s Butts
  • Scarborough
  • Sheffield – Devonshire St
  • Sheffield The Moor
  • Shirley
  • Southport – Old Bank
  • Stafford
  • Staines
  • Stoke
  • Stourbridge
  • Sudbury
  • Torquay
  • Uxbridge
  • Wakefield
  • Walsall
  • Wapping
  • Wardour St
  • Weston-super-Mare
  • Whiteley Village
  • Whitstable
  • Wrexham