Prezzo eyes spin-off brand in train stations

Prezzo is reportedly planning to launch a chain of takeaway pasta shops in train stations amid challenges in the casual dining market.

The Italian chain's chief executive Dean Challenger told The Telegraph it was in the "early stages" of planning a range of fast-food sites.

The Prezzo "Pronto" chain is set to offer takeaway pasta and pizza slices in a break away from the group's traditional sit-down model.

"Train stations have options like Upper Crust, KFC, Burger King, but there's nothing available at a slight level above these. I think there's a gap there," Challenger told the paper.

Prezzo was founded in 2000 and grew to 300 UK restaurants amid the casual dining boom in the late 2010s.

But like many of its rival chains, it has significantly cut the size of its estate over the last six years.

In 2018, it closed 94 sites through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), including its Tex-Mex brand Chimichanga.

Investment firm Cain International acquired the business out of pre-pack administration in 2021 with the closure of a further 22 sites.

Prezzo underwent a further restructuring last year and permanently shut 46 restaurants, with more than 700 redundancies, and is now left with 96 sites.

Challenger told The Telegraph he believed the group could expand to around 120 restaurants but would never return to its previous size.

He said most of its closures had been in small market towns, which he said had become unviable as costs had risen due to their lower average weekly sales.