Prezzo announces overhaul of its estate and mulls a breakfast offer
The Italian restaurant chain has reported profit before tax was £5.5m, compared to a loss before tax of £31.6m the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA of £2.2m, compared to a loss of £5m in 2022, for the 52 weeks to 31 December 2023.
Revenue declined from £134.7m to £110.4m as a result of the company’s restructure, that saw it close more than 50 restaurants.
The group closed the year with 97 restaurants.
In March Prezzo, which is backed by Cain International, announced that it had returned to profitability following the restructure.
In its strategic report Prezzo says it has increased prices to help mitigate cost inflation but that this has coincided with the development of its menu and investment in ingredients ‘to minimise the potential risk of reduced volume’ as a result of the price rises.
The group says it will invest in a number of refurbishments this year as well as in 2025 and 2026 ‘to ensure our restaurant environment is as premium an experience as our menu’.
It also says it is actively working on a number of strategic opportunities to drive sustainable future growth, including, for example, the introduction of breakfast and a new retail range’.
In April 2023 Prezzo launched Time & Attendance which, it says, ‘coupled with an increase in menu prices and cost saving initiatives, led to an increase in gross profit margin of 460 basis points, from 35.6% to 40.2%’.
Earlier this year Prezzo chief executive Dean Challenger said that the group was plotting a move in the QSR market with the development of a takeaway pasta concept that will have branches in UK train stations.
