Franco Manca to close 16 UK restaurants (including 9 in London)

Franco Manca has announced plans to close 16 restaurants across the UK, with over half of the closures in London. The chain of restaurants is run by The Fulham Shore (which also oversees The Real Greek), and is set to undergo a major restructuring, with around 225 jobs at risk.

Founded in Brixton in 2008, Franco Manca is known for its Neapolitan-inspired pizzas and sourdough crusts, becoming a popular fixture on the UK's dining scene and growing to 70 locations nationwide. The closures mark a significant shift for the brand, which only a few years ago identified more than 125 potential sites for future expansion.

This new announcement will see over a fifth of its UK-based sites shut down, including its original Brixton restaurant. 

Unsustainable costs

Marcel Khan, chief executive of The Fulham Shore, has blamed ‘disproportionately high’ UK taxes and a lack of business rates relief for the closures, stating that it's ‘no longer sustainable’ to keep these sites open.

He commented: ‘Even restaurant businesses that are doing all the right things from a customer and operational perspective are not immune to widely publicised pressures impacting the hospitality industry.

‘As a result of these external cost pressures, we have to make sure that we are putting our business on a sustainable footing for long-term growth and development.

‘We are deeply saddened by the closures of a minority proportion of our restaurants, and will support our affected team members throughout this process in every way that we can.’

According to reports, the group is also exploring its future options for The Real Greek, which currently has 28 outposts across the country.

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