Pizza Hut’s UK dine-in business has gone into administration, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and creating uncertainty for several restaurants across Sussex.
DC London Pie Ltd, the company running Pizza Hut’s sit-down restaurants in the UK, entered administration after struggling with high costs, tax debts and reduced customer spending.
Administrators FTI Consulting have been appointed to handle the process. As part of a pre-arranged deal, Pizza Hut’s parent company Yum! Brands has stepped in to buy 64 restaurants, which will continue to trade. Staff at those sites are expected to transfer under the relevant employment protection rules.
However, 68 dine-in restaurants and 11 delivery-only sites were not included in the rescue deal, putting around 1,200 jobs at risk nationwide.
Across Sussex, Pizza Hut branches in Brighton, Crawley, Worthing, Eastbourne and Hastings could be affected, although no confirmed list of closures has been released yet. For now, Sussex restaurants remain open and serving customers as normal, but staff are awaiting updates.
If closures go ahead locally, this could mean job losses and another blow to high streets that are already under pressure. Restaurants like Pizza Hut bring regular footfall to town centres, so any shutdowns may also impact nearby cafés, shops and local suppliers.
The company’s separate delivery operation, Pizza Hut Delivery, is unaffected by this administration.
The collapse follows months of financial strain across the hospitality industry. Key reasons include: soaring energy bills, rent and food prices; customers eating out less amid the cost-of-living squeeze; a sit-down buffet-style business model becoming harder to sustain; and tax problems, including a winding-up petition from HMRC.
Administrators will now decide which restaurants stay open and which close. Yum! Brands has said it aims to protect as many jobs as possible while stabilising operations. Staff at rescued sites will move under the new structure, but workers at excluded restaurants may face redundancy in the coming weeks.
Pizza Hut’s problems reflect a wider challenge facing UK restaurant chains, with many mid-market brands having already shut dozens of locations in recent years. For Sussex, this situation is a reminder of just how fragile the hospitality sector remains — and how important high-street dining outlets are to local economies.
For now, the pizza ovens are still hot across Sussex — but the future of Pizza Hut in the region hangs in the balance.
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