PizzaExpress has moved quickly to replace Neil Wickers, who was yesterday appointed as the new chief executive of Carluccio’s, by promoting Luke Davies to international managing director, M&C Report understands.
Davies steps up from divisional operations director for the South, responsible for over half of the brand’s UK estate is being promoted to International MD.
Chief executive Richard Hodgson told M&C Report: “He has grown up in Pizza Express over the last 17 years having started as a waiter in Arundel and is the perfect successor to Neil.”
His appointment comes as the Hony Capital-backed chain further strengthens its openings pipeline.
The brand, which operates c430 restaurants in the UK, has secured sites in the Bromley South scheme; Sandside in Scarborough and O2 Finchley Road, for openings this year.
It has recently gone on site at Loughborough’s Baxter Gate scheme.
Last year, the group secured the Café Rouge site in Charing Cross Road for an undisclosed sum for an opening later this year.
Last summer, the chain secured the Strada sites in Spitalfields and Billericay.
Last September, the group opened its 500th site in total and its first full-owned international site in Beijing, China.
It is thought that the group believes it can open an initial 25 company-owned sites in the region and has put together a management team to oversee that development.
The company now has 22 sites in China – including Shanghai and Hong Kong. At present three of top 20 PizzaExpress restaurants in the world are based in China.
The brand has a global presence across 13 countries including China, India and the Middle East.
Richard Simmonds at RSA Property acted on the UK deals.
