Pizza Hut UK franchisee enters administration, 370 jobs saved through restaurant sales

More than 370 Pizza Hut jobs were saved after UK franchisee Nine Food Group Limited entered administration and sold 30 restaurants, a move that leaves the chain racing to transfer stores to new operators and keep delivery and kitchen crews in work.

Pizza Hut UK & Ireland said it was working with stakeholders to put new franchise partners in place for the majority of the affected sites. For restaurant staff, that means the immediate question is not just which stores stay open, but which shifts, managers and delivery rounds survive the handover.

One of the clearest signs of continuity came in Collier Row, where the Pizza Hut on Chase Cross Road is set to reopen under a new franchisee after a temporary closure. That kind of handoff matters on the front line: if a site can change hands quickly, drivers, team members and shift leaders have a better chance of keeping their jobs without long gaps in pay.

Nine Food Group Limited, which was registered at Pizza Hut, 46 The Common, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, was appointed into administration on 29 April 2026, according to company filings. Its collapse comes even as Pizza Hut has tried to expand through franchise partners, underscoring how quickly local economics can turn when a store network runs into financial strain.

Nine Group’s earlier deal with Pizza Hut Delivery in 2021 had been pitched as a growth story. At the time, the company said it would become the franchisee for 31 existing Pizza Hut Delivery and Express Huts and could add 40 new UK locations over three years, creating about 800 jobs. The latest administration shows the other side of that model: each restaurant lives or dies on the strength of the individual operator, even when the brand name stays the same on the sign.

Pizza Hut’s UK business runs through a franchise structure, with local operators functioning as separate independent businesses. That can protect the brand from a single failure, but it also leaves workers exposed when a franchisee’s finances weaken. The sale of 30 restaurants suggests some stores found buyers fast enough to preserve jobs, while others may still be waiting on a transfer or closure decision.

For delivery drivers and restaurant crews, the stakes are immediate. A change in franchise ownership can mean a new payroll, new management and new expectations on labor costs, especially in a market where delivery competition from app-based rivals has already squeezed margins and made every order count.