Pizza Express
Coverage tracks the operational and strategic developments of one of the UK’s most established casual dining brands, with a focus on estate refurbishments under the “Future Express” programme, rollout of digital ordering and pay-at-table tech via Pepper, expansion into retail with supermarket pizzas, and growth in delivery partnerships with platforms like Deliveroo and Just Eat. Reporting also covers site closures, pricing strategy, leadership changes, and repositioning efforts aimed at re-engaging younger diners and improving off-premise performance. Insight is geared toward operators monitoring high-street group strategy, brand recovery, and innovation in the mid-market pizza sector.
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Oct- 2019 -24 OctoberComment
Pizza Express: how to keep pizza on the menu and on the High Street
Recent news that Pizza Express, is engaging in ‘debt talks’ has sparked fears that it could be the next company to disappear from the high street. Will it be possible to turn the company’s fortunes around? In a sector as fast-moving as the UK restaurant industry, even small changes can…
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8 OctoberRestaurants
Fears over Pizza Express restaurants as debt talks emerge
Pizza Express has reportedly hired advisors to help its debt situation, sparking fears that it could be the next chain to collapse. According to Pizza Express’ latest annual report, the 470-store pizza chain restaurant finished last year with a £1.12bn debt after a pre-tax loss of £55m. The pizza chain’s…
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Aug- 2019 -28 AugustRestaurants
Pizza Express group earnings down by 7.7% in H1
Pizza Express saw its group earnings drop by 7.7% for H1, in spite of a small rise in sales for the 26 weeks up to 30 June. Group EBITDA for H1 was down 7.7% to £32.4m, with total sales up 2.6% and like-for-like sales up 0.2%. The group cited “industry-wide…
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13 AugustAnalysis
Spotlight: Restaurant chains defying the high street downturn
Pizza Express Pizza Express has been a mainstay on the UK highstreet since it was founded in 1965. In spite of a fairly saturated Italian dining scene the brand has maintained its presence where a majority of its competitors have struggled, including Jamie’s Italian, Prezzo and Carluccio’s. One of the…
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1 AugustAnalysis
Who now thinks Byron was worth £100m?
There was a time when Byron was all the rage. Perhaps the earliest successful British recreation of the exploding American ‘posh burger’ trend, it struck a chord with affluent London millennials and quickly became a posterchild for high-growth restaurant businesses in the fast-casual segment. Founded by Tom Byng in 2007…
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May- 2019 -31 MayAnalysis
The UK dining sector: A recipe for change
As concerns over Brexit mounted in 2018, consumer spending on the UK’s high streets was anything but “strong and stable”. One of the sectors most impacted was dining. Spend growth fell to just 3% year-on-year compared to 9% in 2017, according to our analysis of the transactions of over 2.5m…
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1 MayRestaurants
Pizza Express sees growth despite ‘challenging conditions’
Pizza Express saw its group turnover increase 1.6% to £543m for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2018. In the UK and Ireland underlying like-for-like sales grew 0.1% excluding the impact from adverse weather (down 1.0% unadjusted) while internationally, the Italian chain’s total sales were up 8.4% when compared with…
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Apr- 2019 -24 AprilRestaurants
James Spragg appointed Casual Dining Group CEO
Casual Dining Group (CDG), the operator of c.280 mid-market restaurant brands including Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and Cafe Rouge, has announced the appointment of James Spragg, currently chief operating officer, to the position of chief executive officer, effective from 29 April. Spragg has extensive experience in the restaurant and leisure…
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Mar- 2019 -28 MarchRestaurants
Pizza Express unveils new theatre kitchen at Oxford Circus
Pizza Express, has announced the reopening of its Langham Place, Oxford Circus pizzeria, after a significant redesign as part of its new brand proposition. Extensive customer research conducted by the company resulted in innovation across design, food and drink and the customer experience, which together form a ‘test and learn’…
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22 MarchAnalysis
The emerging food-to-go trend
Within the food and drink industry, the food-to-go sector is booming and IGD has even forecasted that it will be worth £23.5bn by 2022. Within the sector, many different types of organisation are looking at how they can capitalise on consumers’ love affair with quick, convenient food. They should also…
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