London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Prezzo to close a third of its restaurants as bills rise

Prezzo to close a third of its restaurants as bills rise

Italian restaurant chain Prezzo will shut a third of its restaurants after being hit by rising costs for pizza and pasta ingredients and energy.
The group said closing the 46 loss-making sites will put 810 staff at risk of redundancy.

It said its utility bills had more than doubled in the past year along with sharp rises in costs for dough balls, pizza sauce, mozzarella and spaghetti.

The cuts will affect sites with footfall still below pre-Covid levels.

Prezzo said it would keep its restaurants in busier shopping areas, such as retail parks and tourist destinations.

Covid restrictions at the height of the pandemic forced many hospitality businesses to shut their doors and furlough staff. The financial recovery for thousands of pubs, bars, restaurants and other venues has since been hampered by rising costs, especially for energy.

Prezzo, which went into administration in late 2020 before being bought by private equity firm Cain International, said the cuts affected restaurants where "the post-Covid recovery has proved harder than we had hoped".

Staff were informed about the closures on Monday morning and the chain said it would work to redeploy "as many staff internally as possible".

"The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the High Street," said Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo.

"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," he added.

As well as energy bills, Prezzo said its "core ingredients" had soared, with dough ball costs rising 15%, pizza sauce shooting up 28% and spaghetti jumping 40%.

The company added "double-digit wage inflation" had also hit its finances.

Mr Dean said the "tough decisions" had been made to "ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come".

Other restaurant chains have announced cuts due to the impact of the pandemic and inflation, with the owner of Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito closing 35 restaurants in March on top of previous closures in 2020.

Zizzi, Ask Italian, Pizza Express and Pizza Hut have also closed sites in recent years, while Prezzo announced it would shut 94 restaurants in 2018.

The 46 new Prezzo restaurants closing are:

* 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
* 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
* Woodford Green
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×