Pizza Hut could sell UK restaurants as part of plans to raise more than £10million

Heart With Smart (HWS) - which is successful complaint of 140 dine-in Pizza Hut restaurants successful the UK - wants to usage the wealth to put successful touch-screen ordering machines and distant array ordering

The relation of Pizza Hut’s UK concern could merchantability immoderate of its restaurants aft it revealed plans to rise much than £10million to assistance sorb other costs pursuing the Budget.

Heart With Smart (HWS) - which is successful complaint of 140 dine-in Pizza Hut restaurants successful the UK - wants to usage the wealth to put successful touch-screen ordering machines and distant array ordering. This could travel from a merchantability of portion of the business, oregon caller concern from existing shareholders, reports the BBC.

The investments would let Pizza Hut to run with less unit - though reports suggest it would not pb to redundancies. HWS employs astir 3,000 radical and licenses the Pizza Hut sanction from Yum! Brands - but Pizza Hut transportation outlets are tally separately by idiosyncratic franchisees.

The advisory steadfast Interpath has been hired to tally the process, which was archetypal reported by Sky News. Interpath declined to comment, portion Pizza Hut has not yet responded. It comes aft Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £25billion taxation raid connected businesses aft confirming a hike successful employers’ National Insurance contributions.

The complaint of National Insurance paid by firms volition emergence from 13.8% to 15% from April 2025. The net threshold for erstwhile employers commencement paying National Insurance volition besides beryllium lowered from £9,100 per twelvemonth to £5,000. However, the magnitude employers tin assertion backmost from their National Insurance measure volition emergence from £5,000 to £10,500 successful a determination that volition assistance smaller businesses.

Experts person warned businesses whitethorn look to mitigate these costs with smaller wage rises oregon hiring freezes. It whitethorn besides enactment them disconnected expanding pension contributions beyond auto-enrolment minimums. Rachel Reeves did not denote immoderate changes to National Insurance for employees.

A raft of large retailers person warned they volition look a large deed pursuing the Budget - and hinted this could besides effect successful immoderate unit connected shoppers. Signatories to a missive organised by UK Hospitality, and seen by The Sunday Times, person said that “some jobs connected minimum wage volition go unviable”.

The missive reads: “The changes to the NICs threshold are not conscionable unsustainable for our business, they are regressive successful their interaction connected little earners and volition interaction flexible moving practices which galore older workers and parents trust upon. Unquestionably they volition pb to concern closures and occupation losses wrong a year.”

Asda president Lord Stuart Rose has suggested determination volition beryllium rising prices - but said the supermarket volition bash each it tin not to walk other costs connected to consumers. Sainsbury’s has besides warned of a £140million hit, portion Marks & Spencer said it would mean £60million successful other costs, which volition beryllium pushed higher by an summation successful the minimum wage.