THE Pizza Hut restaurant chain has announced plans to create 200 jobs in the North-East by the end of the year.

The company is making a concerted effort to expand into the region and is looking to recruit all levels of team members, from restaurant managers to support staff.

The recruitment drive follows a record year of job creation and expansion for Pizza Hut, which saw the company open 62 UK outlets in 2002, creating more than 3,000 jobs, and reinforcing its position as sector leader of the £1.9bn British pizza market.

This year, Pizza Hut aims to open 75 restaurants.

John Derkach, chief executive officer of Pizza Hut (UK), said: "We are committed to building on our success in the North-East and we believe that our plans provide great opportunities for the region.

"To stay the best, we need the best, and we are looking for people as passionate as us to help us maintain our position as the UK's favourite pizza restaurant."

Pizza Hut has more than 500 outlets across the UK, including 350 dine-in restaurants and 170 home delivery outlets.

The firm is a division of Yum! Brands Inc - the world's largest restaurant group - with more than 30,000 outlets in 90 countries. Pizza Hut UK is a joint venture between Yum! Brands Inc and Whitbread Group. The company employs 15,000 people in the UK.

* Rival group Pizza Express yesterday said it had seen another slice taken out of its sales figures since December.

The group, which is the subject of a two-way bidding war, said the decline in like-for-like sales at its core pizza restaurants business had gathered pace in the 14 weeks to April 6, falling 9.4 per cent on a year earlier.