Pizza Express, one of the most famous brands in the United Kingdom, is preparing a lifeline of 30 million pounds from its shareholders, according to reports from Sky News.
Bain Capital, a private stock company, is believed to lead financing to ensure that the company can finance its support of 335 million pounds next year. The deal has not yet been completed, and Cyrus Capital Partners, another main holder of the Pizza Express, may play a role in 2020, a role.
The investment comes at a time when the chain of restaurants, which runs nearly 350 UK and Irish outlets, faces a difficult environment. The industry is preparing for additional cost pressure when national insurance payments rise in April, in conjunction with the minimum wage. Hospitality leaders warn that these changes may intensify investment and put more pressure on menu prices – a source of concern given that consumers have already faced high costs in recent years.
Modern Pizza Express's history was defined by ownership and heavy debt changes. Although it witnessed an explosive success from the nineties until the early first decade of the twentieth century, a series of acquisitions left it installed with a debt pile of 1.1 billion pounds. According to the interest costs of 93 million pounds annually, which contributed to the pre -tax loss of 350 million pounds in 2019.
Since then, the series has closed dozens of restaurants, reduced the number of employees, and began a renewal campaign to restore its climax. The latest available numbers show to the public that the revenues increased to 367 million pounds in 2023, although the company is still publishing a loss before the tax of 6.4 million pounds.
Research from CGA indicates that sales in the best hospitality companies in the United Kingdom in January were 1.3 % less yearly. High costs, supply chain pressures, and changing consumer habits combined to form a sector. More restaurants can be forced to raise prices to accommodate new employment expenses, and may test customers' willingness to keep eating.
Meanwhile, Express's pizza ambitions for expansion or acquisition may be – I thought about seizing the restaurants group (the father in Wajamama) in 2023 but withdrew – through the opposite winds in the market. The company hopes to enhance the new investment and constant update of the flexibility images against a rapidly evolving scene.
Bain Capital or Pizza Express did not comment on the reported deal, but if the financing package is agreed, it can secure the brand's position because it moves on the possibility of higher taxes and operating costs in the coming months.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.