Pizza Hut to overhaul 80 restaurants in £60m project
Pizza Hut has announced a £60m investment programme to overhaul 80 restaurants by the end of 2014.
The menus will be broadened to include ribs, wings and fries, while the restaurants will feature redesigned salad stations, ice cream factories and buffets more prominently.
The first site to showcase the new design will be Crawley Leisure Park, which opens today. It will feature a central preparation station for a range of desserts including warm cookie dough, a waffle machine and an ice cream factory where guests serve themselves and select their own toppings.
The refurbishments are being funded by private equity firm Rutland Partners, who agreed the restructuring programme in late 2012.
Pizza Hut Restaurants managing director Jens Hofma said: "The re-opening of our Crawley restaurant marks the start of the largest investment programme we have ever undertaken in the UK, and is reflective of our ambition to strengthen our leading position in the casual dining marketplace.
"Pizza Hut Restaurants is a durable concept that has stood the test of time and this investment programme is demonstrative of our underlying values: delicious and innovative food at affordable prices, warm and genuine service, and an informal environment where everyone feels welcome - whether it's a family dinner or a quick working lunch.
"We are not just in the business of selling pizzas, but rather putting the guest experience at the heart of everything we do, which is why we are reengineering the business with a renewed focus, improving staff training and overhauling the look and feel of our estate with these new concepts."
Pizza Hut currently has 330 dine-in restaurants in England, Wales and Scotland.
