Owner pledges to salvage restaurant from collapse

The Flying Pizza in Street Lane, Roundhay, in Leeds, has been a popular haunt of business people, celebrities and loyal customers from the north of the city since it opened in 1974.

Its owners are blaming growing local competition, coupled with the recession and the extreme winter weather in the weeks before Christmas, for downturn in its fortunes.

Yesterday Martin Pickles, who took over the business 10 years ago and refurbished the premises in 2008, vowed the restaurant would remain open and revealed “advanced talks” were being held with a new investor to take the business forward.

“The Flying Pizza is not closing. We will continue through this,” he said.

He said since he had taken over there had been a huge increase in competition in Leeds and the freezing weather in November and December had been a heavy blow.

The company had gone into voluntary liquidation two weeks ago, he added.

A creditors’ meeting will be held in Sheffield on Tuesday at the offices of business recovery and insolvency specialists Wilson Field.