Aylesbury's Pizza Express closes down

The decision comes as the 454 strong restaurant chain is trying to cut down rental costs.

The company have blamed the closures on the reduction of income during lockdown with the costs of reopening, coupled with the UK's uncertain economic future.

The pizza firm is currently owned by Hony Capital.

Zoe Bowley, Pizza Express’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “Unfortunately, the impact of the global pandemic has meant that we have had to make some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard Pizza Express for the long term.

“Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently.

“In most cases, there is another Pizza Express nearby, either already open or reopening soon, to welcome our customers.

“Our focus is on our people whose jobs are impacted and we will be doing everything we can either to redeploy them or to support them in finding roles elsewhere.

“Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues and provide a strong footing for Pizza Express to meet future challenges and opportunities.