Papa Johns has temporarily closed 13 of its restaurants in the South West of England as the brand ends its partnership with the store’s franchisee. The locations included in this partnership include Exeter, Bristol, Barnstaple and Plymouth.
Jabbar Mumtaz became the South West Franchisee for Papa Johns in December of 2023 after the previous business in charge of the stores went into liquidation.
A spokesperson for Papa Johns said: “We hold all of our restaurants to the highest standards and expect our franchisees to operate with integrity and in line with our values.
Following a thorough review, we have ended our relationship with this franchisee. While the stores are temporarily closed, we are working to secure new ownership and reopen as soon as possible.”
The UK boss of pizza giant Papa Johns has revealed the company is eyeing a return to profit in 2025 after closing more than 40 restaurants last year.
Managing director Chris Phylactou confirmed the business is “no longer losing money” and is on track to report its first UK profit since 2021.
Speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, Phylactou opened up about the impact closing so many stores had on the business, and himself.
City AMM reported in October 2024 that the UK arm of Papa Johns lost almost £20m in the year before it decided to close more than 40 underperforming restaurants.
The Milton Keynes-headquartered division posted a pre-tax loss of £19.9m for 2023, having also lost £4.1m in 2022.
