Four Star Pizza raises dough for UK expansion
The Irish-owned Four Star Pizza chain is looking to expand into Great Britain, saying it has reached saturation point in Ireland.
The company opened five new franchises last year bringing the number of outlets on the island of Ireland to 60, including 14 in Northern Ireland.
Director Brian Clarke said a big challenge for the company’s future going forward is what he calls a ‘capacity ceiling’ for growth in Ireland, which has led to expansion into the British market being considered for 2020.
“Last year saw us add five new stores and we’d like to do the same again this year, which would take our total to 65, but we are very conscious of the fact that there is only so much room for growth in this market with every franchise having its own dedicated delivery territory as part of its contract,” he said.
“Our core markets of Dublin, Cork, and Belfast have already pretty much reached saturation point, which means that it is important for us to focus on expanding the brand outside of these areas.”
“What this means from a wider business perspective is that we are now seriously looking at expanding our operations into the GB market, which is very exciting, and we certainly expect to see some developments in that respect over the next 12 months.”
The first Four Star Pizza store in Ireland opened in Crumlin, Dublin, in 1986.
The company now employs more than 1,000 people on the island of Ireland, selling 4.75m pizzas last year.
In Northern Ireland, the company opened its first store in Belfast in 1999. Last year, Four Star Pizza said it sold 4.75 million pizzas using more than 525 tonnes of cheese and 1,050 tonnes of flour in the process.
