Pizza Express is closing around 75 of its UK restaurants.

The company has 470 pizzerias in the country and the axe is set to fall on up to 20% of them, putting 1,000 jobs at risk.

It has yet to confirm which branches will close.

Richmond's Pizza Express restaurants has been running in the Lion House in Red Lion Street for years.

The large space makes it a particularly popular spot for children's parties.

If it were to close it would be a blow to the town's dining scene.

Reports suggest Pizza Express has accrued debts of £1.1 billion.

Founded in 1965 in Soho, Pizza Express is now ever-present on British high streets.

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It also runs a further 150 outlets internationally.

The company was bought by Chinese investment firm Hony Capital in 2014 in a £900 million deal, shortly after the chain opened its first restaurant in Beijing.

Hony hoped to drive the growth of Pizza Express in China, but this ambition now appears to have stalled.

It is drawing up plans to close the 75 restaurants via a company voluntary arrangement (cva).

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