Pizza chain Papa Johns is set to shut 43 restaurants across the UK – including five in south east London.

The takeaway business confirmed plans to axe the “underperforming” locations after launching a review at the start of the year.

It will close the restaurants by mid-May following a consultation process, Papa Johns International said.

The company has not confirmed how many staff will be impacted by closures.

The group had previously said it planned “strategic closures” in order to free up money for investment and improving profitability at its remaining UK sites.

It has now identified 43 restaurants as “underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable”.

There are 16 of these venues across the whole of London and five in south east London.

Here are the south east London locations which are set to close.

-Bromley - 3, Market Parade, 41 East St, Bromley BR1 1QN

-East Dulwich - 40 E Dulwich Rd, London SE22 9AX

-Mottingham - Cranley Parade, Beaconsfield Rd, London SE9 4DZ

-Penge - 138 High St, London SE20 7EU

-Peckham - 193 Queen's Rd, London SE15 2ND

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, said: “Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process.

“Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available.

“We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.”

Mr Phylactou added: “While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.

“We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future.

“We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.”