Pizza Express takes £41.8m one-off charge as FY profits recover

Pizza Express has reported that a non-cash charge of £41.8m has reduced the carrying value of the brand to £421.7m for the year ended 29 December 2024. The company maintains that this accounting provision did not reflect underlying trading performance. 

Excluding exceptional charges, Pizza Express posted a profit before tax of £4.3m, compared with a £2m loss the year before. Group revenues slipped 2.7% in the UK and Ireland and 6% across international markets, bringing total sales down to £442m from £454.5m.

In its filing at Companies House, the Pizza Express board wrote: “During 2024, our primary market of the UK and Ireland continued to operate in a challenging macroeconomic environment. There has been continued consumer caution driven by economic uncertainty and the lasting impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, coupled with cost inflation across food, labour and central costs.”

The company also highlighted difficulties in Hong Kong, citing “a significant net outflow of people” and reduced inbound tourism following the easing of pandemic restrictions. By contrast, it said its United Arab Emirates business benefited from higher tourist numbers.

Pizza Express ended the year with net assets of £983.4m and cash of £54.7m. In April 2025, parent company Wheel Topco agreed a £55m refinancing package, including a £20m equity injection from shareholders such as Bain Capital Special Situations. The deal extended the maturity of its senior secured notes to September 2029 and cut total debt to £280m.

The group said operating profit excluding adjusting items declined by a quarter to £29m, largely due to intra-group recharges introduced in 2024. Excluding those recharges, operating profit rose to £43.3m from £38.7m the previous year.

Chairman Allan Leighton, who also holds the same role at Asda, said the business continued to focus on refurbishments and customer engagement. A further 67 UK sites were refurbished in 2024, alongside new openings in Birmingham and Oxford and a trial “Pod” concept in Southampton.

The company also pointed to ongoing investment in its expansion and customer offer, noting that seven new restaurants had opened in 2025 so far, with more to follow, and that its remodel programme remained on track with 50 additional sites due to be refreshed by the end of next year. Its Pizza Express Club loyalty scheme grew from two million members in 2023 to more than 3.5 million, while its retail range maintained its position as the UK’s number one chilled pizza brand.

Founded in 1965, Pizza Express has undergone several changes of ownership in recent years. In 2020 the company agreed to a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that closed around 70 restaurants and cut thousands of jobs. The move came alongside a restructuring of £735m of debt, handing control of the business to its lenders, including Hony Capital and Bain Capital Credit.

Since then, the group has sought to reduce borrowings through refinancing deals. In 2023 it was linked with a possible takeover of The Restaurant Group, owner of Wagamama, but no bid materialised.