Pizza Express is back after years of financial trouble. Photo: Mark Waugh/Alamy Stock Photo
At the door of a Pizza The new Express pizzeria on Mare Street in east London features a large sign: «Your marble table is waiting for you.»
For those who remembers the chain's heyday in the 1990s and 2000s, it sends a clear message: «Pizza». The Express is back.
The chain's new and refurbished restaurants promise the affordable luxury that has made them a staple of middle-class travel for decades.
«We» are not getting cheaper, they say. It is still a pleasure to visit us,” says hospitality industry expert Simon Stenning.
After agonizing years in which the company closed about 100 restaurants and cut a number of jobs, Pizza Express now hopes to be able to win back ground in the fight for the main street.
The chain insists on its debt. there are problems behind it, arguing that a painful restructuring over the past few years has put it on the right track.
Paula McKenzie, the former head of KFC in the UK and Ireland, took over last year and oversaw branch renewal and expansion .
New restaurants appear in Cranley, Maidenhead, Cheltenham and Hackney. The Mare Street Outpost opened its doors last November.
The menu has also been updated with new additions such as hot honey dough balls and a peach liqueur made especially for the chain. New pizza toppings include seasonal asparagus.
Pizza Express looks to outdo its 'casual cuisine' rivals who are now retreating. Photo: Dominik Lipinski/PA
Growth comes at a time when many other rivals are retreating.
Byron Burger, once the darling of the £100 million restaurant industry, now operates just 12 restaurants after failing twice in the past three years. Jamie's Italian company went bankrupt even before the pandemic, and as inflation skyrocketed, Prezzo recently announced hundreds of job cuts and 43 site closures.
The rest of the chains are pessimistic. Andy Hornby, chief executive of Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group, told The Telegraph in March that he doesn't believe so-called casual restaurants will ever regain their former glory.
Many of these brands were once the rebels have taken over the lead from Pizza Express.
Pizza Express, founded in 1965 in London by Peter Boiso, an entrepreneur with a taste for Italian food, helped popularize pizza in the UK. He specialized in affordable food that seemed upmarket and opened a jazz bar in London's Soho in 1976.
«They offered real value, really great experiences and inspirational stuff,» says restaurant industry consultant Peter Backman. .
Their availability, reliability and ubiquity also made them popular with parents who knew they could leave their kids. were pleased with the pizza while enjoying a glass of wine or Peroni, which the chain was the first to import to the UK.
However, by the 2000s, Pizza Express was struggling to stand out in what had become a crowded market. Ask, Strada, Jamie's Italian and Prezzo competed for a seat next to him on the main streets. in 1965, became a hit among the middle class
Pizza Express was bought by private equity firm Cinzen in 2007 and the company was delisted as demand for mid-range restaurants soared in the UK.
“They were forced to increase sales volumes,” Backman says that led to a «downgrade» of Pizza Express. his proposal. The chain began to rely heavily on discounts.
“They were leading the voucher wars,” Backman says. «Download this voucher, go to Pizza Express and get 50% off… it completely destroyed any idea of value.»
In 2014, the restaurant changed owners again. Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital bought it for £900m, loading it with debt as it embarked on an expansion into Asia that never met expectations.
Back in Britain, continued proliferation of new brands on the high street — Franco Manca, Rosa's Thai, Côte Brasserie, etc. — created even more pressure on the business.
“Any brand that is somewhat dated. was going to suffer,” Stenning says. “If it was irrelevant and if it was loaded with debt, you might see the wheels start to fall off.”
Losses hit £350m in 2019 as Pizza Express struggled for 1.1 pound sterling. a billion-dollar pile of debt, the interest of which is reported to be costing him £93 million a year. The company has grown too big: it has 450 restaurants in the UK and about 600 worldwide.
The situation came to a head when all the restaurants were forced to close due to the first lockdown. In 2020, the company began a voluntary restructuring with its creditors, announcing a series of closures and job cuts. Hony has pulled out of the game as its creditors have taken over the company.
Pizza Express, at least for now, seems to be having a hard time. In September last year, the company withdrew from a restructuring deal under a Voluntary Company Agreement (CVA). Today, the chain has 362 branches.
A Pizza Express spokesperson claims that the condition of the chain has improved significantly. They said: “We are in a solid position with strong liquidity, good cost control and cash management. The debt level is more than half what it was under its previous ownership.”
And while, like all businesses, Pizza Express has suffered from inflation, the company insists its prices remain “competitive”. Margherita's price has risen from £8.95 in 2019 to £10.95 today — still familiar to longtime shoppers.
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