Papa Johns to create 400 jobs with new franchise deal

Papa Johns is set to create around 400 UK jobs after signing a franchise deal to open 20 new restaurants.

The pizza chain has partnered with Rana Group, which already operates 25 Papa Johns sites in the UK, to launch the new restaurants across Northern Ireland over the next decade.

The first site launched on 5 December in Ballymena, with a second due to be announced by March 2026.

Each restaurant is expected to create between 15 and 20 jobs.

It marks a return to expansion for Papa Johns, which closed 74 UK restaurants last year after blaming “challenging” economic conditions. It now operates 450 locations across the country.

Pre-tax losses at the chain widened from £19.3m in 2023 to £21.8m in 2024, while turnover dropped 7.5% to £88.7m.

However, in November Papa Johns said it had reported its strongest quarter since Covid, with revenue at company-owned UK restaurants rising £800,000.

Chris Phylactou, managing director UK and Europe at Papa Johns, said the Northern Irish franchise deal showed the brand’s “momentum and long-term vision for sustainably growing in the UK”.

Papa Johns was founded in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1984 by “Papa” John Schnatter. 

Its first UK restaurant opened in Grays in Essex in 1999.