By Oscar Woods 
Ping pong restaurant closures UK have marked the end of an era for London diners. After two decades serving dim sum across the capital, the popular chain has permanently shut all its remaining locations.
The announcement came through an Instagram post in early July 2025, catching many customers off guard. Four locations in Soho, Southbank, Bow Bells House, and St Christopher’s Place closed with immediate effect.
Table of Contents
What Happened to Ping Pong Restaurants
Founded in 2005 by restaurateur Kurt Zdesar with backing from investor Igor Sagiryan, the dim sum chain grew rapidly. Within just four years, the business expanded to 13 restaurants throughout London. The brand built its reputation on contemporary Chinese cuisine, offering more than 40 varieties of steamed, fried, and baked dim sum.
But success proved difficult to maintain. Zdesar left the business in 2007, and the company began closing underperforming sites. By late 2022, only six London restaurants and a central production kitchen remained, employing 255 staff members.
Financial Struggles Hit Hard
The pandemic dealt a serious blow. Ping Pong reported a £1.4 million loss in the year ending March 2020. The following year saw losses climb to £1.86 million. While the company managed to return to profit with £334,000 in March 2022, the recovery proved short lived.
Companies House filings reveal AJT Dimsum Ltd appointed administrators Begbies Traynor on July 1, 2025. One day later, the closure announcement appeared on social media.
According to administrator reports from 2022, rent debts accumulated during the pandemic became impossible to manage. One landlord demanded more than £900,000 in full repayment by autumn 2022, threatening legal action. Two other sites owed around £600,000 in backdated rent with no agreements in place.
A £500,000 loan from Sagiryan kept the business running temporarily. In November 2022, administrators completed a pre pack sale to three company directors for £3.21 million. The buyers included former management team members James Horler, Tim Thorpe, and Artem Sagiryan.
Controversy Before the End
Last year brought additional trouble. The chain replaced its traditional service charge with a 15 percent discretionary brand charge. This decision sparked backlash from media and customers, particularly because it came just before new tipping laws took effect requiring all gratuities to go directly to staff.
Ping Pong defended the move, stating it raised wages for the lowest paid workers from £10.42 to £12.64 per hour. Management said the brand charge covered costs of operating to franchise standards and would eventually be incorporated into menu prices.
Many customers felt blindsided. They reported discovering the charge only when reviewing their bills, finding they needed to tip separately in cash if they wanted to reward service.
Part of a Bigger Crisis
The Ping Pong restaurant closures UK reflect broader problems across British hospitality. Data from CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners shows the sector has been shrinking at an alarming rate.
Numbers Tell a Stark Story
Two licensed venues now close every day across Britain. The first half of 2025 saw 62 net closures per month. That puts the total hospitality sector 14.2 percent smaller than before the pandemic started in March 2020, with more than 16,000 net closures over five years.
Food focused establishments have suffered most. Independent and casual dining restaurants contracted 2.9 percent year on year through September 2025. The independent restaurant sector alone is now 22.7 percent smaller than pre pandemic levels, losing 5,801 venues since March 2020.
Between October 2024 and May 2025, 69,000 hospitality jobs vanished. This represents the largest contraction outside pandemic lockdowns in decades.
Why Restaurants Keep Closing
Multiple factors are squeezing operators. Food inflation hit 5.1 percent by August 2025, marking the fifth consecutive monthly increase. Between January 2020 and July 2025, food and non alcoholic drink prices rose 37 percent, significantly outpacing overall UK inflation at 28 percent.
Energy costs have tripled for some establishments. Bills that were £7,000 per quarter jumped to £21,000. Rent obligations remain a constant pressure point, particularly for businesses still carrying pandemic debt.
The autumn 2024 Budget added new burdens. Changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions hit businesses with many part time and flexible workers especially hard. UKHospitality analysis shows the sector accounted for more than half of all job losses across the economy following the Budget announcement.
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, warned the government is pushing the industry to breaking point. She called for lower business rates, reformed National Insurance contributions, and reduced VAT to help businesses survive.
What Customers Are Saying
Social media filled with nostalgic messages following the closure announcement. Long time patrons shared memories of dim sum dates, bottomless brunches, and casual meetups. Many praised the lychee cocktails and the restaurant’s stylish atmosphere.
The company’s farewell message acknowledged these relationships. It thanked everyone who shared moments over the years, passing around what they called little parcels of deliciousness. The team expressed pride in building an independent hospitality brand they described as full of creativity, flavour, and soul.
Looking at the Numbers
Industry research paints a grim picture for restaurant survival. Roughly 17 percent of restaurants close within their first year of operation. Over 2024, the UK hospitality sector saw 4,085 venue openings matched against 4,078 closures. That amounts to 11 venues changing hands every single day.
The final quarter of 2024 saw closures spike to an average of eight per day. Analysts warn this trend could continue, potentially leading to nearly 3,000 net venue losses throughout 2025.
Drink focused venues have shown more resilience, growing 0.5 percent over the past year while food establishments declined. Managed pubs have outperformed all other categories for sales in each month of 2025.
What Comes Next
No information has emerged about whether the Ping Pong brand might return in a different format. The final Instagram post offered no hints about future plans.
For now, former customers and 255 former employees are left processing the end of a London dining fixture. The closures serve as another reminder that even established brands with devoted followings can struggle when economic conditions turn hostile.
The ping pong restaurant closures UK story fits within a larger narrative of hospitality under pressure. Rising costs, pandemic debt, changing consumer habits, and government taxation have created conditions where the traditional restaurant business model increasingly fails to work.
Other chains face similar challenges. Pizza Hut announced closure of 68 UK sites before a pre pack administration deal saved 64 locations. BrewDog shut 10 bars. Simmons closed multiple cocktail locations. Even Oakman Inns filed for administration.
Industry experts warn that without policy changes addressing business rates, employment costs, and VAT, the closure rate will accelerate further. The question now is how many more beloved brands will disappear before conditions improve.