Pizza Express warns ability to trade 'in doubt' if lockdown measures continue

Restaurant chain Pizza Express warned on Wednesday that its future would be "in doubt" if Covid-19 lockdown measures were to continue.

Pizza Express, which posted a £350.0m loss before the coronavirus even had a chance to hurt the business, cautioned that its 2020 full-year figures were likely to be even worse than those recorded a year earlier after pubs and restaurants were forced to temporarily shutter in order to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

The restaurant stated the restrictions had made a "significant impact" on trading in 2020 but also noted that it was "very challenging" to say exactly how hard it had been hit.

However, Pizza Express did highlight that impact had indeed been more than enough to cast "significant doubt" over its future.

Pizza Express revealed it still had enough liquidity to last another 18-months of lockdown restrictions and low sales but warned that another month-long shut down could potentially require it to make moves to reduce overheads.