 Pizza Express has been away from the market for two years |
A return to the stock market is on the menu for Pizza Express after parent Gondola announced plans to float. Gondola, the holding company for Pizza Express, Ask and Zizzi, said its shares would list "within a number of weeks".
Pizza Express, which has 310 restaurants, was taken private in 2003 by TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures.
The planned flotation will give Gondola a market value of about �800m-�900m and the proceeds will go to pay off debt and fund expansion.
A number of staff, including managers of some of its restaurants, will be given shares in the company.
Tasty future
Gondola said it planned to open 20 to 25 new restaurants across its different brands this year and 25 to 30 a year from then onwards.
The company currently owns a total of about 500 restaurants and employs about 10,000 staff.
David Ross, one of the co-founders of Carphone Warehouse, has been appointed as its chairman.
"We see significant opportunities for further roll-out of our brands," said Mr Ross.
"We look forward with confidence to our future as a UK publicly-quoted company."
Pizza Express went private in May 2003 after entrepreneur Luke Johnson failed to gain control of the company he founded.
Since it was bought �278m two years ago by investment firms TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures - who later bought Ask and Zizzi - the chain has rapidly expanded.
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We see significant opportunities for further roll-out of our brands
