Despite the trading pressures, Pizza Express said: "Approximately 95% of our UK & Ireland restaurants are profitable and there are no plans for closures outside the normal course of business." It recently hired advisers at corporate finance firm Houlihan Lokey to help with the debt talks with creditors. Speculation began swirling around Pizza Express in the summer as news of the debt talks surfaced. It had been touted as the next on the list of high street dining casualties, after Jamie's Italian collapses and peers Prezzo and Carluccio's all shuttered sites last year. Sources close to Pizza Express have been quick to deny it is close to collapse or considering a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). However, the firm said in its latest update that it continues to assess its "future funding options", in terms of investment and working capital.