Pizza chain Papa Johns has announced that a number of its restaurants in East Sussex are closing - here's where they ...

The company said the branches form part of a total of 43 stores it is shutting across the UK, which it said were ‘underperforming’.

It said it is proposing to close the stores by mid-May following a consultation process with impacted staff.

The news comes after an earlier announcement by Papa Johns in January, when it said it would make ‘strategic closures of low-performing restaurants’ in order to save money and boost profitability at its remaining branches in the UK.

It said it has now identified 43 restaurants as ‘underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable’.

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, said: “Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process. Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available. We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.

“While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.

“We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future. We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.”

The company added that it remained committed to ‘driving growth in the UK and improving results over the long-term’.

- Eastbourne

- Hailsham

- Peacehaven