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A Pizza Hut franchisee has collapsed into administration after experiencing "financial difficulties". Administrators were appointed for Nine Food Group Limited earlier this week, according to a notice published on the official public record website The Gazette on Thursday.

The company's registered office is a Pizza Hut outlet on The Common in the town centre of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, where there are a number of fast food restaurants. It is believed the restaurant has been closed for around two weeks, with one local saying it is expected to reopen tomorrow. The Express attempted to contact the restaurant via the phone but was unable to get through.

It is understood the location has been successfully transferred to a new franchisee and will be reopening as normal.

A Pizza Hut UK & Ireland spokesperson told the Express: "In the UK, our brand operates through a franchise model, with each franchisee running as a separate and independent business from Pizza Hut.

"We can confirm that one franchisee, Nine Food Group Limited, has been experiencing financial difficulties.

"We have been working closely with relevant stakeholders to resolve the situation and put in place new franchise partners for the majority of these stores.

"Once such partners are in place, we envisage that these locations will reopen and trade as usual.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers and we will return to serving all their favourite pizzas, as soon as we can.

"As details are currently being finalised across all affected sites, we are not able to share anything further at this time."

There are more than 260 Pizza Hut restaurants across the UK, serving three million customers each month.

It is not clear what other Pizza Hut outlets were run by Nine Food Group Limited.

Administrators from FTI Consulting were appointed for the company on Wednesday, The Gazette notice said.

The Express has contacted FTI Consulting for comment.