Industry Restaurant Net income £7.3m GBP (FY 2011) Owner Prezzo | Revenue £59.6m GBP (FY 2011) Headquarters United Kingdom Type of business Private | |
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Key people Jackson Makini, Chairman
Jonathan Kaye, Chief Executive Website www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk CEO Jon Hendry-Pickup (Jul 2016–) Founded November 2000, London, United Kingdom Profiles | ||
Prezzo ("price" in Italian) is a chain of Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first restaurant opened on New Oxford Street, London in November 2000. There are now more than 200 branches across the country. It is part of the Prezzo restaurant group, which also operates the Chimichanga, Cafe Uno, and Ultimate Burger chains.
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It is one of several large Italian restaurant chains in the UK, with competitors including Ask, Pizza Express and Strada.
History
The first Prezzo restaurant was opened in central London by Jonathan Kaye, the company's chief executive, in 2000. There are now more than 280 branches in the UK which includes 23 restaurants opened under both the Prezzo and Chimichanga brands in 2015. Prezzo opened its first restaurant in Ireland in February 2016. Prezzo commonly converts old buildings of architectural value from their old purposes into Prezzo restaurants; examples include an old cinema in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
The first owner of the Prezzo business, Jonathan Kaye, is the son of Reginald Kaye and nephew of Philip Kaye, both of whom have a background in the restaurant trade with the Golden Egg café chain in the 1960s and Italian restaurants Garfunkel's and Deep Pan Pizza, both now sold to Restaurant Group. In 2008 Jonathan hired cousins Adam Kaye and Samuel Kaye (sons of Philip Kaye) to join Prezzo plc's board of directors. Adam and Samuel founded Ask (restaurant) and Zizzi.
Prezzo donates a share of the profits raised from sales of selected dishes to the children's charity Fight for Life.
In 2011 the award-winning celebrity chef Aldo Zilli designed four pizzas which were added to the Prezzo menu under the name "V.I.Pizzas".
Private equity firm TPG took over the Prezzo business in 2015 when Jonathan Kaye moved to a non-executive role. In June 2015 Dirk Eller was appointed interim chief executive. Jon Hendry-Pickup will be joining Prezzo as chief executive in July 2016.
Financial history
In February 2006, when Prezzo owned 73 restaurants, it initiated a major expansion of the business by dropping the price per share. This successfully raised £7.125 million to fund further expansion. Net cash at the half-year was £9.4 million. During the first six months of 2006 Prezzo opened 12 new restaurants. In the year ending December 2006, Prezzo showed a 45% growth in turnover to £54.2m and pre-tax profit grew from £6.1m the year before to £8.7m. In April 2008 Prezzo saw sales grow again to £70.1m and pre-tax profit rose 25% to £13.6m.
The chain continued to grow steadily, reporting a 17% rise in profits to £7.3million (GBP) in September 2011. The company also continues to expand into new restaurant locations, reportedly aiming for a 10% increase in restaurant numbers in 2012.
Products
Prezzo offers a range of Italian inspired dishes including pizzas, pastas, salads and meat dishes. Its menu also includes "Light Options" which are lower-calorie, low-fat and served with salad. The menu also caters for vegetarians, offering 13 meat-free dishes.
Environmental record
At the start of 2011 Prezzo joined the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). Any business joining the SRA must pledge to improve its environmental, waste management and sourcing policies.
Awards
Prezzo was awarded the 'Best Casual Dining' award at the 2011 MIDAS (Menu Innovation and Development Awards). The chain was also awarded the 'Best Italian Restaurant Chain' award by the Pizza and Pasta Association (PAPA) in 2007. The chain was awarded 'Best Pizza Chain' by BBC Olive magazine in 2009.
Jonathan Kaye was named 'Restaurateur of the Year' in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Catey Awards 2011.