More than 1,200 jobs appear to have been lost today after Pizza Hut's UK dine-in business went into administration, the move seeing 68 restaurants, including the brand's Cribbs Causeway location at Bristol's prime shopping mall, set to close, as well as 11 delivery-only sites.

The news came as DC London Pie, the firm running Pizza Hut's UK dine-in restaurants under a franchise deal, appointed administrators from corporate finance firm FTI on Monday.

But within moments of the announcement yesterday, American hospitality giant Yum! Brands, which owns the global Pizza Hut business, stepped in to buy the UK restaurant operation in a pre-pack administration deal from the franchise – the move saving a further 1,277 workers.

Nicolas Burquier, managing director of Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, said: "This targeted acquisition aims to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible. Our immediate priority is operational continuity at the acquired locations and supporting colleagues through the transition."

That late save ensured 64 sites were spared, and these include locations in Arthur Street, Gloucester, Rudloe Drive in Quedgeley and on Cheltenham's High Street, meaning that these outlets are now directly owned by Yum.

Beyond Punchline-Gloucester.com's ongoing narrative for hospitality's headaches in the last year.

Today's news illustrates the extent of trading headwinds for even the biggest players: nine months ago, Directional Capital, a US private equity firm that already operated Pizza Hut restaurants in Sweden and Denmark stepped in to buy the UK Pizza Hut franchise, and sector insiders say the administration move was no shock.

Frank Bouette, partner at city law firm DMH Stallard and specialist in restructuring and insolvency, told Punchline: "Operating as a dine in and delivery model when there is fierce competition by delivery online models - with lower overheads - was always going to be a challenge."

He added: "As the market shifted toward fast app-based delivery, delayed investment in tech and logistics has caught up with them. Add in varying product experience across locations; blurred market positioning; the cost of physical restaurants (which its delivery competitors didn't have); the overhang and effect of the pandemic on dining trends; and inconsistent brand delivery resulting from varying franchises - it's a wonder it survived this long."

More recent nails in the coffin for Pizza Hut, after HM Revenue and Customs filed a winding-up petition against DC London Pie on 11 September, are seen as inevitably including rising energy bills, as well the increase in NIC contributions insitigated in 2024's Autumn Statement.

Pizza Hut opened its first UK dining experience in Islington in 1973 and at its peak, the firm employed more than 14,000 in 1999 with an empire of 700 locations by 2006.

But the Pandemic's disruption of consumer behaviour and a subsequent squeeze on budgets for dining out has seen Domino's increase its lion's share of the UK pizza market (with sales activity rising by more than 10% immediately post-Covid). 

Since then, Pizza Hut has struggled as a key brand in the casual dining sector, facing stiff competition to attract hard-pressed consumers. In the wake of the pandemic, the brand lost 29 branches.

● With $13.1bn sales globally in 2024, Texas-based Pizza Hut started out in 1958 when Wichita brothers Dan and Frank Carney borrowed $600 from their mother, their first outlet expanding to six within a year. The company almost immediately adoped the franchise model, with trailblazing results. Pizza Hut has since grown to become the second-largest pizza company in the world, with more than 20,000 restaurants across more than 110 countries.