PIZZA lovers are facing a sourdough heartbreak as the full list of 16 Franco Manca restaurants allegedly set for closure has been revealed.
The popular chain is swinging the axe after bosses warned that “disproportionately high” taxes are strangling hospitality businesses across the country.
Over 200 jobs are now on the line as the group prepares to shut down a significant chunk of its empire.
In a move that has stunned foodies, the chain’s original founding Brixton branch is reportedly among those marked for the chop.
The site has served as a pizzeria since 1986 and launched the Franco Manca brand into the mainstream back in 2008.
The capital is set to take the biggest hit with eight London locations facing the scrapheap.
Aside from the historic Brixton spot, workers at branches in Battersea, Broadway Market, Chiswick, Kilburn, New Oxford Street, Stoke Newington, and Tottenham Court Road have reportedly been handed identical warnings about their future.
The pain is spreading far beyond London as the cost of living crisis and tax hikes bite.
Outlets in Bishop’s Stortford, Bromley, Cheltenham, Didsbury, Glasgow, Hove, Lincoln, and Plymouth are also believed to be confronting the same grim fate.
Marcel Khan, the chief executive of parent company Fulham Shore, confirmed the business is launching a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to restructure on Wednesday.
He laid the blame squarely on a brutal economic climate, stating: “Even restaurant businesses that are doing all the right things from a customer and operational perspective are not immune to widely publicised pressures impacting the hospitality industry.”
Mr Khan pointed to a perfect storm of rising costs that have left sites “no longer sustainable.”
He said that the industry is suffering from “significant increases in national insurance and the national living wage in recent history, as well as a lack of business rates relief for the restaurant sector and disproportionately high VAT in the UK compared with Europe.”
The boss added: “As a result of these external cost pressures, we have to make sure that we are putting our business on a sustainable footing for long-term growth and development.
“This is why we have taken the difficult decision to undertake a CVA for Franco Manca, which will see a minority proportion of our restaurants closing where they are no longer sustainable in this cost environment.
“We are deeply saddened by the closures of a minority proportion of our restaurants, and will support our affected team members throughout this process in every way that we can.”
The move follows a period of rapid change for the pizza giant. Franco Manca was bought by Fulham Shore in 2015 before the group was snapped up by Japanese food titan Toridoll Holdings for £93.4million in 2023.
However, recent documents filed by Toridoll revealed a 5.4% drop in turnover, with revenues and earnings for the group described as “bad.”
The restructuring comes just two months after senior executives brought in consultants to look at a potential sale or reorganisation.
While the pizza chain faces immediate cuts, the firm is also believed to be continuing its evaluation of future prospects for its 28-strong sister chain, The Real Greek.
