All PizzaExpress articles – Page 5
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Analysis & InsightBangkok bounce back?
Once the darling of the Thai restaurant scene, Busaba has had a tough few years, with falling profits and site closures. Now with a simplified offer and a fresh focus on the capital, it’s looking to bounce back
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NewsKitopi raises $60m in new funding
Kitopi, the smart kitchen operator, has raised $60m in new funding led by Lumia Capital.
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NewsReview of the Year part One
Amid a backdrop of casual dining carnage and CVAs around every corner, the industry had plenty of news in 2019. But Pizza Express delivered drama. With 490 sites in the UK, Pizza Express is a national institution. So when it announced a net debt pile of £1.1bn earlier this year, and premature rumours of its demise hit the airwaves, the country rallied itself in the way it does best these days – by keyboard.
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NewsThe Dom Walsh Awards
Our monthly columnist from The Times hands out his annual awards to brands and operators who have made the past 12 months newsworthy – for better or for worse…
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NewsJo Fleet named ‘unsung hero’
Flat Iron, Wagamama, Caravan and Lina Stores were among winners at Restaurant magazine’s R200 Awards held in London last night (4 December).
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NewsPizza Express bondholders’ warning over brand’s future
Pizza Express bondholders have urged the restaurant chain’s senior management and Chinese owners to move quickly to restructure the group’s debt-laden balance sheet or risk its future, the Financial Times reports.
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NewsPizza Express has reasons to be cheerful - and remain vigilant
Back of house, the management of Pizza Express clearly still has much on their plate as they seek to stabilise the finances. But, to their credit, the front of house execution is not being undermined. In fact, MCA’s latest quarterly consumer research finds the business has several reasons to be cheerful.
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NewsPizza Express receives tender offer for £80m worth of bonds
An affiliate of Pizza Express’ owner Hony Capital is understood to have launched a tender offer to acquire up to £80m of the group’s senior notes, due in 2022.
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NewsPizza Express: someone has got to take a hit somewhere
The appointment of financial advisors this week shone a fresh spotlight on the precarious situation at Pizza Express. The celebrity figureheads at Jamie’s Italian and Carluccio’s had already put their crises into the public consciousness, yet the prospect of Pizza Express facing the same woes is an even bigger moment. The brand is credited with creating the concept of casual dining and is the UK’s biggest and most enduringly popular restaurant brand with 490 sites.
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NewsPizzaExpress hires advisers for debt talks
PizzaExpress has hired financial adviser Houlihan Lokey to prepare for debt talks with its creditors amid continued tough trading conditions, Bloomberg reports.
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InterviewsPizza Express: ‘We are starting to experiment with much more interesting flavours’
Pizza Express’ food and beverage director, Jane Treasure, talks to Sarah Sharples about trends coming out of Italy, the pace required in innovation and why meat indulgence isn’t going anywhere.
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NewsPizza Express to focus on upgrading sites as EBITDA falls 7.7%
Pizza Express is to focus its capital investment on upgrading its existing estate in the UK & Ireland, rather than adding new sites, as sales remained flat in the first half of the year.
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NewsPeters swaps Zing Zing for Kitopi
Zing Zing managing director Phil Peters has joined delivery rival Kitopi as head of UK expansion, MCA understands.
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NewsConcerns raised over PizzaExpress debt
The cost of insuring PizzaExpress’ debt against default has risen to its highest level due to concerns over its borrowing, the Financial Times has reported.
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NewsLambert departs Kitopi
Former PizzaExpress director Neil Lambert has departed dark kitchen operator Kitopi, MCA understands.
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NewsDöner Haus heading to Manchester Corn Exchange
Berlin-style kebab concept Döner Haus is opening in Manchester’s Corn Exchange in October, MCA understands.
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OpinionDominic Walsh: A tale of three leaders
In the latest of his monthly columns, Dominic Walsh takes a look at the conduct, successes and failures of several high-profile figures in the sector, and shares a story of an unfortunate seating arrangement at the tennis.
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Analysis & InsightReputation and rumours
The success rate of former CEOs at Mitchells & Butlers in getting the business to fly has been questionable, but has Phil Urban cracked it? In his latest monthly column Dominic Walsh discusses how far the operator has come over the past four years – and those PizzaExpress rumours.
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Analysis & Insight’A brand that has been around for a certain amount of time can be both a gift and a curse’
The Restaurant Group’s director of product innovation talks to Sarah Sharples at MCA’s sister title Food Spark about dish development at Frankie & Benny’s, why innovation is key to fighting casual dining woes and her hopes for sustainable eating.
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NewsTonkotsu eyeing expansion after securing £5m investment
Tonkotsu is eyeing expansion after securing a £5m investment from YFM Equity Partners.