Pizza Express creditors approve CVA

Pizza Express has announced today (7 September 2020) that its creditors have approved its proposed company voluntary agreement (CVA).

In a virtual meeting last week, 89% of all responding creditors voted in favour of the CVA, passing the 75% threshold, while 67% of responding unconnected creditors approved the proposal.

The CVA only affects Pizza Express’ UK restaurants and will not impact its sites in Ireland, Jersey or its international estate.

As part of the CVA, 73 Pizza Express restaurants will close, putting 1,110 at risk.

Currently, 355 Pizza Express sites are open in the UK, with over 30 restaurants and live venues scheduled to reopen in the coming weeks.

Following the CVA’s approval, the Pizza Express directors thanked its creditors for ‘‘their support during this period and look forward to ongoing partnership as the hospitality industry recovers to growth’’. 

Pizza Express first announced that it would formally launch a CVA in an update last month. 

The announcement came after the group reached an agreement with its secured creditors and majority shareholder, Hony Capital, for a recapitalisation and restructuring transaction in a bid to shore up cash. 

At the time, the group said it planned to launch a CVA “in the near future” following an extensive review of its operations, but expressed that 73 sites could be at risk of closure at the time.