Pizza Express about to go into adminstration?

[QuimJongUn]

I've seen people talking about this on social media but can't find anything about it online. Anyone heard anything/got any links?

It's daft but I've got a real fondness for the place especially with money off from Clubcard vouchers

I love PE pizzas & like the nice buildings, & good service plus it caters for different allergies. I'm not a massive fan of a lot of the independent pizza chains like Franco, don't think the food is that great or good value. Also I find a lot of independent places in general are small & more places for a quick bite rather than enjoy your meal over 2 hours.

@SwedishEdith - per last year's accounts, an average headcount of just over 14,000.

I have to admit this one surprised me, its always been on the too expensive side for me, but they are always busy and seem the middle class "acceptable" dinner of choice round here.
But i just don't think people have the spare cash for frivolous purchases anymore. All the businesses that are struggling are the ones that got through the last recession on "treats" but about a year ago eating out got a lot more expensive almost over night and the quality hasn't gone up with that and i just don't think people have that sort of spare cash. Where a decent pudding in a restaurant was under a fiver your now looking at £6/£7. Mains have bounced from £11-£14 to nearer £20. It all adds up.

I just think people are spending less on this sort of thing, and when they are spending it, they are spending it more wisely.

I thought people were spending money on experiences so things like food & drink as opposed to clothing but where I live all retailers seem to be struggling.

Such a shame, I hope it's not all of them. I was wondering a few years ago though who on earth was eating in all of these restaurants. Every chain seemed to go through an explosion. This over expansion makes them so ubiquitous.

Our disposable income hasn't decreased but when you can eat something just about anywhere you go, it stops being a top choice and seems a bit of a waste of money.

www.casualdiningmagazine.co.uk/news/2018-04-10-express-yourself

Too little, too late.

I used to like going to Pizza express, but went recently and the bill was about £80-90 for 4 and for something really basic. I decided literally then that I was going to change my habits and we haven't really been since. For the quality of experience I think it is now expensive.

My DS will be very sad if this is true, he is coeliac and Pizza Express is the one place we can go to anywhere in the country and be certain he can eat safely.

Is it not a problem with not knowing their market.

I remember when they first opened (I'm old) they were more upmarket and "adulty" than pizza hut who were aiming at the families.

Then they expanded and aimed more at families, but didnt lower the prices/costs.

The more adulty mid market stopped going as much because most don't want to have dinner in a creche.

But the prices were too expensive for families unless they could get vouchers.

End result - no mans land.

Don't like pizza anyway!

Oh I am sad about this - when my DC were younger we always used to go there when we went to weekends away - we were sure about the price and the quality was also ok (most of the time although it could vary restaurant from restaurant). Now my Dcs are older and we very more, but it will always be our 'family' restaurant in my memories - the other day we were counting to how many pizza expresses i the country we have been and we have been to some 15 different pizza express restaurants in England, Scotland and Wales in the last decade. :)

I'm surprised they've let themselves get to this point, but not surprised administration is the next step now. They have too many branches and not enough QC oversight of each one. They are so variable. Our local one is always heaving but god knows why - the food is often cold, the service indifferent, the toilets foul and last time we went we even noticed a load of mould on the walls. And just so overpriced. The staff seem shocked if you turn up without a voucher, so it's not like they don't know it. It's the kind of place we go thinking 'maybe it will be nicer this time' but it just gets worse and worse while simultaneously more and more expensive. I do like the pizzas, though - when they're hot.

I don't get why so many pp are advising us all to go to independent Italian restaurants though. What if you live in one of the many places that doesn't have one? We have a choice of PE, Ask, Cote, Prezzo or Zizzi. Talk about Hobson's choice.

Not surprised. I hadn't been in one for twenty years - my ex and I always went to our local one for a 'posh' pizza. Then my sister invited me to her local one. I was really looking forward to it.

Oh, my God it was foul! The pizza dough was tough, vastly over priced and the service was so slow I'd have been able to make one myself in the time it took. Shame for the staff and those who seem to have a good one nearby but I wouldn't bother again. There are so many better places springing up with similar menus now.

I don't think administration is imminent - the story has come out because they have hires advisers to renogotiate the debt, the first tranche becoming due in August 2021.

Oh no no no no no!

We love PE. It's the middle-class McDonalds of pizza. Know what you're getting, always reliable, dd loves the children's menu.

Last time I went (last year), the food was dire, the service was direct and the bill was ridiculously expensive. I'm not suprised they are going bust when Franco Manca serves far superior pizzas for half the cost.

I would be gutted. It’s the only place we can safely eat with my allergy kids

I remember when they first opened (I'm old) they were more upmarket and "adulty" than pizza hut who were aiming at the families.
I think the first ones were actually jazz bars in the west end

The staff seem shocked if you turn up without a voucher, so it's not like they don't know it.

Their pricing is nothing but a con job. They're deliberately charging too much but at the same time making it easy to find money off vouchers. So, they're basically just shafting those with money or who don't know how they work. You can easily get a voucher code on your phone whilst you're sat there eating.

@Ursaminor I hope you're right!

We go to local independent restaurants far more often than we go to PE (which is the only chain we like really, incidentally). And for those saying it's expensive, almost every branch has offers on at any given time. Our local one does two courses for about a tenner, which isn't bad at all.

I've never been arsed with the pasta but the pizza is delicious and there's lots of choice for those with various dietary requirements.

I feel so awful for the staff who will of course suffer the most if it goes under. They have so many branches, there must be thousands of people who are very worried right now.

I don't understand the expensive comments, isn't it 2 courses for £13 which is pretty much the same as Franco Marc

@Miaowing I agree, that was the issue in a nutshell.

I don’t think there has to be blame here tbh. All companies go through a life cycle which ends in them closing business.

@Passthecherrycoke that's true & the younger generations view chasing differently I think.