Prezzo (restaurant)

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Prezzo
Type Private
Industry Restaurant
Founded November 2000
Headquarters Woodford Green, Essex
Key people Jackson Makini, Chairman
Jonathan Kaye, Chief Executive[1]
Revenue Increase £59.6m GBP (FY 2011) [2]
Net income Increase £7.3m GBP (FY 2011) [2]
Owner(s) Prezzo PLC
Website www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk

Prezzo ("price" in Italian) is a chain of Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom. The first restaurant opened on New Oxford Street, London in November 2000. There are now 150 branches all over Great Britain. It is operated as part of the Prezzo restaurant group, which also operates the Chimichanga, Immo and Ultimate Burger chains in the UK.

It competes with several other similar Italian restaurant chains including Ask, Pizza Express and Strada.

History

In 2000 the first Prezzo restaurant was opened in Central London by Jonathan Kaye.[3] There are now around 150 Prezzo restaurants operating within the UK including 13 within London. Prezzo commonly converts old buildings of architectural value from their old purposes into Prezzo restaurants;[4] examples include an old cinema.[5]

The Chief Executive of Prezzo plc, Jonathan Kaye, is the son of Reginald Kaye and nephew of Philip Kaye. Both these men were in the restaurant industry themselves with the Golden Egg cafe in the 1960s and Italian restaurants Garfunkel's and Deep Pan Pizza, both now sold to Restaurant Group.[6] In 2008 Jonathan hired cousins Adam Kaye and Samuel Kaye (sons of Philip Kaye) to join Prezzo plc's board of directors.[7] Adam and Samuel founded Ask (restaurant) and Zizzi.

Prezzo has links with the children's charity Fight for Life; some of the profits raised by selling select dishes from the Prezzo menu are donated to the charity.

In 2011 the award-winning celebrity chef Aldo Zilli designed four pizzas which were added to the Prezzo menu under the name of "V.I.Pizzas".[8]

Prezzo Restaurant - Albert Street, Harrogate

Financial History

In February 2006 Prezzo owned 73 restaurants and decided to seriously expand the business by dropping the price per share. This successfully raised £7.125 million through a share placing 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.[9] At the end of this year Prezzo showed a 45% growth in turnover to £54.2m and pre-tax profit grew from £6.1m the year before to £8.7m.[10] In April 2008 Prezzo saw sales grow again to £70.1m and pre-tax profit rose 25% to £13.6m.[11]

The chain continues to grow steadily, reporting a 17% rise in profits to £7.3million (GBP) in September 2011.[12] The company also continues to expand into new restaurant locations, reportedly aiming for a 10% increase in restaurant numbers in 2012.[13]

Products

Prezzo offers a range of Italian inspired dishes including pizzas, pastas, salads and meat dishes.[14] Alongside this, the company puts an emphasis on "Light Options" which are lower-calorie, low-fat and served with salad. The menu also caters for vegetarians, offering 30 meat-free dishes.

Environmental Record

At the start of 2011 Prezzo, along with a number of other restaurants, joined Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). Any business joining the SRA has to make a number of pledges to improve its environmental and sourcing polices. Also it means the business will improve its waste management to be more sustainable.[15]

Prezzo - geograph.org.uk - 999111

Offers

Prezzo commonly runs promotions via its website. One popular example is "2 Main Courses for £12".

Prezzo also has links with Tesco; members of Tesco's ClubCard scheme can trade points earned by shopping in Tesco for Prezzo vouchers.[3] The company also offers a 25% student discount for students holding an NUS Extra card.[16]

Awards

Prezzo was awarded the 'Best Casual Dining' award at the 2011 MIDAS (Menu Innovation and Development Awards).[17] The chain was also awarded the 'Best Italian Restaurant Chain' award by the Pizza and Pasta Association (PAPA) in 2007.[18] The chain was awarded 'Best Pizza Chain' by BBC Olive magazine in 2009.[19]

The company's Chief Executive, Jonathan Kaye, was named 'Restaurateur of the Year' in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Catey Awards 2011.[20]

Prezzo restaurants are commonly compared to those of similar chain Pizza Express. In several reviews Prezzo has been given a more favourable rating than its competitor.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Company Summary - Prezzo PLC (LSE:PRZ)". 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Carlton, Michael. "Financial Performance: 2011 Interim Report". Prezzo PLC. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Prezzo, Prezzo token in Clubcard". Tesco PLC. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Prezzo Restaurants - Our Story". Prezzo PLC. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Restaurant plans for old cinema in Beaconsfield approved". Bucks Free Press. 
  6. ↑ Watkins, Simon. "Interview: How Jonathan Kaye built Prezzo". This is Money. Retrieved 29 November 2011. 
  7. ↑ Druce, Chris. "Adam and Sam Kaye join Prezzo board". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 29 November 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Aldo Zilli creates pizza range for Prezzo". BigHospitality.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  9. ↑ Druce, Chris. "Prezzo raise more cash to fund expansion". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 1 December 2011. 
  10. ↑ Kühn, Kerstin. "Profits soar at Prezzo". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 1 December 2011. 
  11. ↑ Walton, Christopher. "Prezzo restaurant expansion pays off". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 1 December 2011. 
  12. ↑ Whiterow, Philip (7 September 2011). "Pizza chain Prezzo reports jump in profits". London: The Independent Newspaper. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  13. ↑ Negus, Richard. "On Market From Fleurets". Fleurets. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Prezzo Restaurants - Menus". Prezzor PLC. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  15. ↑ Smoucha, Emily. "More restaurants pledge to tackle sector’s poor environmental performance". Green Wise. Retrieved 1 December 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Prezzo Student Discount". NUS. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  17. ↑ "Prezzo, M&B and Compass Big Winners at Menu Innovation Awards". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  18. ↑ "PAPA Awards Winners over the Years". Pizza and Pasta Association. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Prezzo named UK's best pizza chain". Eat Out Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
  20. ↑ "2011 Winners :: 2011 Catey Awards". Catey Awards. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  21. ↑ Bachelor, Lisa (28 October 2011). "Store Wars: Pizza Express and Prezzo". London: Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 

External links

Food chains in the United Kingdom
Casual dining
Fast food
Baked goods
Coffeehouses and tea rooms
Dairy
Pub chains
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