A private equity firm has completed the acquisition of Italian restaurant brands Zizzi and Ask Italian for £250m.
London-based Bridgepoint acquired the two brands, which reported year-on-year growth of 9.6% and a half-year turnover of £119m between them, from restaurant operator Gondola Holdings. They operate almost 250 locations across the UK.
Last year, the Gondola Group also sold the Pizza Express restaurant chain to Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital for a reported £900m. It followed reports that the group’s owners, Cinven, were looking to exit the market because of difficult trading conditions and net borrowings that totalled more than £1bn.
Ask-Zizzi CEO Steve Holmes said: “These are exciting times for ASK-Zizzi. Bridgepoint’s acquisition of our business has just [been] completed and we are delivering strong trading momentum.
“With a new supportive investor, our focus now is on the continued evolution of our brands, investment in our estate of restaurants and the development of our footprint in the UK casual dining market.”
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