Papa Johns to close multiple Sussex restaurants - but are branches in Worthing and Littlehampton safe?

The company said 43 ‘underperforming’ stores across the UK will be shut by mid-May following a consultation process with impacted staff.

The news comes after an earlier announcement by Papa Johns in January, when it said it would make ‘strategic closures of low-performing restaurants’ in order to save money and boost profitability at its remaining branches in the UK.

The stores set to close in Sussex are: Bexhill; East Grinstead; Eastbourne; Hailsham; Horsham and Peacehaven.

Surrey’s Redhill restaurant will also close.

This means that the branches in Worthing (Broadwater Road) and Littlehampton (Arundel Road) are, in fact, safe.

Also saved from closure are the stores in Bognor Regis, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Crawley, Haywards Heath; Selsey; Hastings; Brighton and Hove.

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns 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.

“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.”

Papa Johns recorded global sales for Q4 2023 of more than 1.3 billion US dollars (£1 billion) – a 10th higher than the previous year.

The company said it has plans to ‘continue to grow its restaurant footprint’ in the UK.

A spokesperson added: “To ensure that the brand is well-positioned for future growth, it will continue to work with like-minded franchise partners to open profitable restaurants in locations that best meet the needs of consumers.”