Italian restaurant chain Prezzo has announced the closure of 46 loss-making sites across the UK, affecting more than 800 employees.
Prezzo said a strategic review of its business to focus on better-performing restaurants would ensure long-term, sustainable growth. Nearly 100 restaurants, located mainly in shopping centres, retail parks and tourist destinations, will continue to trade, employing around 2,000 people.
The company has informed all affected employees of the Prezzo closures and launched a consultation process.
Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the high street and I’m extremely proud of the way our colleagues have retained Prezzo’s position as an appealing, trusted, great-value food and drink experience.”
“But the reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably. That is why we have made the difficult decision to close 46 sites where the post-Covid recovery has proved harder than we had hoped.
“We will work to find suitable alternative roles in other Prezzo restaurants for all those hard-working colleagues impacted by the announcement and support those who cannot be accommodated in finding new opportunities.”
“We believe the tough decisions we are making today will ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come.”
Prezzo, which means “price” in Italian, said it had seen its costs rise in the past year, including more than a doubling of utility bills, as well as core ingredients (dough balls up 15%, pizza sauce 28%, mozzarella 18%, spaghetti 40%) and double-digit wage inflation.
Last week, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry body UK Hospitality, said: “Hospitality businesses are doing all they can to shield consumers from price rises, which means they’ve absorbed as much cost as they can, but that is becoming unsustainable for many.”
Prezzo closures
The Prezzo closures are in Beccles, Billericay, Bolton, Borehamwood, Boston, Bracknell, Brentwood, Buckhurst Hill, Buckingham, Chichester, Chingford, Colchester, Corby, Didcot, Eastbourne, Egham, Eltham, Ely, Epsom, Fleet, Glasgow, St Vincent Place in Glasgow, Hailsham, Harpenden, Livingston, Lyndhurst, Maidstone, Mere Green, Mill Hill, Oxford, Plymouth, Redditch, Redhill, Rugby, Shepperton, Shirley, Sidcup, St Neots, Stowmarket, Tenterden, Tunbridge Wells, Weybridge, Whitstable, Wickford, Wimborne, Winchester and Woodford Green.
Prezzo is owned by Cain International, a property investment firm based in London, which bought it in 2020 after the pandemic pushed the restaurant chain into administration.
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