Gondola Group, who operates brands Pizza Express, Zizzi, Ask and Byron, has reported sales rose by 4.2% to £604.2m in the 12 months to 1 July
Underlying earnings climbed by 6% to £112.2m as margins rose and amid “early signs of recovery in the trading backdrop”.
Chief executive Harvey Smyth reported that underlying trading has been positive since the year-end. He said: “Momentum has been gradually building over the past 18 months. Trading patterns have become more predictable.”
The group, which is owned by private equity firm Cinven, opened a total of 13 13 PizzaExpress outlets opened in the UK during the year and around 20 a year are planned. Ten Byron sites were opened in a “breakout year” for the brand. The company had placed Byron on the market in the year but withdrew it after offers did not meet price expectations.
Cinven is expected to hire advisers at some point in the coming year to look at its strategic objectives. The company also saw 11 sites open internationally in the year, including two in Shanghai, two in Kuwait City, and one in Mumbai, to take the total to 56.
Smyth said: “Our ambition is for PizzaExpress to become the Number one Western casual dining brand in our chosen international markets of the Middle East, India an the Far East.” Gondola serves more than 40 million meals a year and employs 15,000 people. PizzaExpress remains its biggest brand with 418 sites and sales of over 31 million pizzas in supermarkets annually. Chairman Chris Woodhouse reported earlier this year that the addition of calzone to the PizzaExpress menu just before Christmas ‘has been an overnight success’.