The growing Irish appetite for pizza pushes profits skyways at Pizza Express, trading in the Republic under the Milano brand, and fuelling demand for a major expansion of the Italian-style restaurant chain.
The London-based plc, which has 286 sites in the UK and Ireland, reported a 24 per cent rise in full-year profits to £40 million sterling last week. Sales in the Irish operations were up 40 per cent on projected figures, with profits of £1.3 million (€1.65m).
The Milano chain currently has six restaurants in Ireland, with a seventh opening in Dublin before Christmas, but that figure will more than double in the next five years, according to Russell Bailey, managing director of Milano Ireland.
"I expect there will be another 10 Milano restaurants here within five years," he said. At present, there are six locations in Ireland, three in Dublin and one each in Belfast, Cork and Galway. High-profile locations are a top criterion. Almost every major street in London has a Pizza Express - and while the decor varies, the product remains identical.
Milano on Dawson Street, the company's first location in Ireland, opened in 1996 and has been one of the top five performing locations since then serving 4,000 customers a week. The Dawson Street branch generated profits of £600,000 (€761,842) this year.
Russell Bailey has similarly high expectations for the new IFSC branch, due to open in December. Located on a corner site at Clarion Quay, this new 180-seater restaurant can expect to do a roaring trade from the first day it opens its doors. The IFSC is home to some 15,000 office workers with a very limited selection of lunch or evening venues.
Although not a prime city centre spot, the high rent commanded by this new outlet reflects the potential it holds. Rent for the 6,000 sq ft premises will be £180,000 (€228,552) a year - £30 (€38) per sq ft. Development costs are in the region of £1 million (€1.27 million). The Dawson Street location involves a rent of £150,000 (€190,460) per year.
The recipe for success at Pizza Express has been the simplicity of the product on offer - good pizza, keen prices and fast turnaround. Some 350,000 customers are served every week in the Pizza Express network. "Our prices are competitive so we need a high volume of table turnaround," said Bailey. Milano on Dawson Street is so popular that there is usually a one-hour queue at weekends.
There is a second Milano in Temple Bar, and Pasta Di Milano is located on Lower Ormond Quay. The Cork restaurant is on Oliver Plunkett Street and the Galway restaurant, which reported a 50 per cent increase of like-for-like sales this year, is at The Corn Store in the city centre.
A new restaurant will open in Limerick early next year, followed by one in Blackrock and a second location in Belfast later in the year. Expansion plans could see new restaurants opening in cities such as Kilkenny and Waterford and in Dublin and its suburbs.
In total, 38 new Pizza Express restaurants opened during the past year in the UK and Ireland. Turnover increased due to the opening of the new stores, rising to £185.6 million sterling. Like-for-like sales rose 10 per cent overall.
Pizza Express also operates the Cafe Pasta chain in the UK, which generated sales of £6.8 m sterling. While the Cafe Pasta chain has not been expanded into the Republic, Pizza Express has opened one pasta restaurant, Pasta Di Milano. There are 14 Pasta Di Milanos in the London area, but there are no plans to significantly expand this brand. "The simplicity of the menu is what makes Milano successful. Serving pizza is very cost efficient. In our Dawson Street branch, which caters for 4,000 customers a week, we still only need three chefs on busy nights," said Bailey.
