Hey Prezzo! Restaurant chain beats profit forecasts

The pizza and pasta chain opened 31 new restaurants during 2012 as it grew revenues by 17 per cent to £144.5m. Adjusted profits of £18.3m were 5 per cent ahead of analysts’ forecasts and 11 per cent better than a year earlier, even though the period was impacted by summer distractions such as the Olympics, Euro 2012 and Royal Jubilee.

Its expansion plans will add about 375 more staff to its total workforce of around 3,000.

Chief executive and co-founder Jonathan Kaye said a combination of opening in good locations, training, marketing and its food offer drove the out-performance.

Chairman Michael Carlton added: “This is the fifth consecutive year that we have entered without a clear conviction that the UK economy can deliver sustained growth on any meaningful scale over the next twelve months.

“However, Prezzo has prospered during this period of uncertainty and we will continue to drive the business forward.”

Prezzo halted expansion in 2009 as the downturn squeezed consumer spending and profits.

But new openings in 2012, plus a couple of closures, gave the company 210 outlets by the end of December.

Two of the 25 restaurants opening this year are in Yorkshire. In the next six months Prezzo will open in The Leeds Light and Ripon. The company are investing £1m and the openings will create 40 jobs in the region.

New sites for the Italian-style Prezzo brand included prime spots in London such as the newly-overhauled Kings Cross station, as well as restaurants in Manchester, Bristol, Bath, Beaconsfield, Marlow, Southport and Chingford.

Prezzo also counted more success with its Chimichanga Tex-Mex chain, which sells food including fajita wraps, tortilla burgers and enchiladas.

Its “increasing confidence” in the brand prompted 13 new openings, including in Bournemouth, Bury St Edmunds, Bromley and Ealing, to give it 28 sites.

Mr Kaye said trading is “going well so far this year”, but declined to give more detail on underlying sales growth.

He said: “I remain confident in being able to adapt to what the economy throws at us.”

The Aim-listed chain is controlled by the Kaye restaurant dynasty, with various family members together holding about 70 per cent of its shares.