Pizza Hut appoints advisors to explore possibility of CVA

Pizza Hut Restaurants could be the latest casual dining chain to undergo a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) as the group appoints advisors to explore a restructure.

According to a Sky News report, the business has appointed Alvarez & Marsal "to explore the possibility of an insolvency agreement that could entail significant job losses".

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut Restaurants said: "Despite Government support, and entering lockdown from a place of strength, there has been a substantial impact on the whole restaurant sector. Along with many other businesses, we are looking at ways to minimise that financial impact, while continuing to trade as usual.

"Whether this will require financial restructuring in the form of a CVA or otherwise is as yet undecided. While no decisions have yet been taken, we will continue to communicate and engage with employees on a regular basis."

It is the latest development in the casual dining market, which has seen brands such as Carluccio's, Bella Italia and Café Rouge operator Casual Dining Group, and Zizzi and Ask Italian owner the Azzurri Group fall into administration.

PizzaExpress, and Wagamama and Frankie & Benny's owner the Restaurant Group have also undergone or are undergoing CVAs, while brands including Pret, Busaba and Prezzo have appointed advisors to see them through the coronavirus crisis.

The Pizza Hut brand launched in 1958 in the USA and opened its first site in the UK in London in 1973. The group now has more than 200 restaurants in the UK with nearly 7,000 employees and its UK bosses completed a management buyout of the company in 2018.

Pizza Hut Restaurants is a separately owned company to the brand's delivery business.

Representatives of Alvarez & Marsal declined to comment.

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