Pizza Pilgrims has lined up four new sites this year, as it reports record revenues for 2023.
The Imbiba-backed pizzeria brand is set to open Euston and King’s Cross in June and November respectively, with debut sites in Wales and Scotland - in Cardiff (August) and Edinburgh by December 2024.
It comes as Pizza Pilgrims reported revenue growth of 37% to a record £28.7m last year (2022: £21.0m).
The Neapolitan-inspired group reported pre-tax profit more than doubling to £0.7m (2022: £0.3m) and EBITDA before exceptional items at £2.4m (2022: £1.1m).
The 22-strong company, which has been backed by Imbiba since 2021, has a team of more than 480 employees, serving between 40,000-50,000 pizzas per week.
Trading in the 2023 financial year was strong across all restaurants, with demand particularly strong in Carnaby Street, Victoria and Waterloo in London, as well as Cambridge and Leeds in the regions.
Best-selling pizzas in the year under review were the margherita and double pepperoni & hot honey.
The company recently launched its Pizza at Home Kit, a retail product released in collaboration with Ocado.
Including Deliveroo, eat-out sales now account for around 19% of income, a growing incremental revenue stream for Pizza Pilgrims.
Two new sites have opened, in Queen’s Park, London and Leeds since the June year end.
The brand typically opens six new sites each year which are opportunistically selected in busy urban centres, in characteristically located buildings.
Building on its initial success in London, the company has expanded to Leeds, Brighton, Nottingham and Cambridge.
New openings tend to be evenly split in and outside London, with a key strength at transport hubs such as train stations, metropolitan districts and vibrant university towns and cities.
The company achieves a strong ROCE (return on capital employed) of 85% across the estate (excluding sites open less than 12 months).
With minimal debt, new site expansion is almost entirely self-funded from free cash flow. Each new site creates 15-25 new jobs.
Pizza Pilgrims continues to invest to ensure the core estate continues to grow, with three significant refurbishments typically carried out of more established sites a year.
The next phase of refurbishments will see Carnaby Street, Canary Wharf and London Bridge all earmarked for investment this year.
Each pizzeria has its own identity inspired by the décor of Napoli and Southern Italy with a mission to transport guests on a “one hour Summer holiday to Italy” with authentic, buzzy atmospheres.
Thom Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, commented: “The strong trading across the business, led by Gavin, Sophie and the team, underlines the commitment we have made to serve the best, authentic Neapolitan pizza with our own twist. From our very first pilgrimage to Italy in 2012, the team has constantly strived to raise the bar and retain our position as pizza pioneers, sourcing the very best ingredients, pushing boundaries and obsessing about the happiness of our teams and our customers.
“We have always strived to grow at the right pace, and we remain focused on building a sustainable business for the long-term which will continue to delight customers and support our teams for decades to come. This year will see four new openings, including our inaugural pizzerias in Scotland and Wales – as we continue to demonstrate that sustainable growth remains an output of running a great business, rather than our sole focus. We continue to love the journey and look forward to bringing our team’s legendary Neapolitan hospitality to our growing band of Pilgrims in new cities up and down the land.”
