Town’s Papa John’s pizza store is set to be closed

PIZZA chain Papa John’s is shutting 43 “underperforming” takeaways across the UK, including one in Rochdale.

The company has not confirmed how many staff will be impacted by closures but will “attempt to redeploy staff where possible”.

Among the closures is the store on Mellor Street in Rochdale.

The chain previously said it planned “strategic closures” in order to free up money for investment and improving profitability at its remaining UK sites.

It has now identified 43 restaurants as “underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable”. Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa John’s UK, said: “Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process.

“Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available.

“We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.”

Papa John’s said it plans to increase investment in research and technology, such as better utilising customer data, as part of its UK strategy. It also said it will look at the development of new types of sites beyond traditional takeaway sites, such as expanding into holiday parks, and is set to “announce other large retail partners in the coming months”.

Mr Phylactou added: “While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.

“We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future. We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.”

The takeaway pizza business said on Tuesday (March 26) that it will close the restaurants by mid-may following a consultation process.