Azzurri reports 6.6% sales lift to £218m
Azzurri Group, the company behind Ask Italian and Zizzi, has reported a 6.6% rise in sales to £217.7m for the 12 months to 28 June 2015.
EBITDA for the period jumped 16.5% to £31.8m, the business reported in documents filed at Companies House.
Azzurri saw a boost to business as a result of the launch of seven new restaurants and the refurbishment of 35 existing sites, with both the Ask and Zizzi estates undergoing revamps in recent years.
Commenting on the figures, chief executive Steve Holmes said: "A lot of it is reinvestment in the business. We spent £18.6m last year on capital investment."
The Ask Italian and Zizzi restaurant brands reported a strong increase in sales and profits at the start of the year, just two months after the group was acquired by Bridgepoint. The private equity firm bought the brands from Gondola for £250m in December 2014.
As Azzurri's refurbishment programme concludes, the company said it will implement a more aggressive expansion plan under Bridgepoint and grow its 112 ASK restaurants and 136 Zizzi sites.
It aims to open around 15 new restaurants each year, with expansion beyond Britain already in the pipeline. Sites for Ask have been acquired in Dublin and Belfast and Holmes said he believes it could have between 10 and 20 restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic in the next five years.
Azzurri bought London-based quick-service Italian food chain Coco di Mama in July and has since increased the number of outlets from six to eight, with ambitions to have 40 within the M25 in the next three years.
Azzurri Group to acquire Coco di Mama >>
Theo Randall acquires share of Ask and Zizzi >>
