Prezzo plans restaurant revamps after major restructure

Prezzo is to invest in refurbishing its restaurants over the next three years after returning to profit following a major restructure.

The casual dining chain closed 46 restaurants, over a third of its estate, in April 2023 after chief executive Dean Challenger said rising costs made trading “impossible”.

However, Prezzo posted a pre-tax profit of £5.4m in 2023 against a loss of £31.5m the previous year.

Revenue for the year was £110.4m, down from £134.7m from 2022 following the closure of a total of 51 restaurants.

But an increase in menu prices and cost saving initiatives saw gross profit margin increase from 35.6% to 40.2%.

Challenger said Prezzo’s future looked “positive” and the company was planning to invest in restaurant refurbishments across 2024, 2025 and 2026.

It has also launched a new apprenticeship scheme and employee-led inclusion groups, which Prezzo said had improved restaurant staff turnover by 17% year-on-year.

Prezzo was founded in 2000 and grew to 300 UK restaurants amid the casual dining boom in the late 2010s. But like many similar chains, it has significantly cut the size of its estate over the last six years.

It was left with 97 restaurants at the end of 2023 after struggling with the rising cost of everything from energy to dough balls.

Writing in its latest accounts, Challenger said: “With the restaurant estate and central overhead restructure complete we have seen performance in 2023 return to profitability. 

“Furthermore, with underlying supply issues of labour easing, inflation beginning to stabilise, the recruitment of a new executive team completed and deflationary benefits in utilities locked-in for 2024 and 2025, the outlook for Prezzo is positive.”