Papa John’s makes first UK profit since 2006: Pizza delivery business Papa John’s has made its first profit in the UK since 2006. The company saw turnover increase to £28,415,000 in 2012 from £22,943,000 the year before. Pre-tax profit was £102,000 compared to a loss of £1,028,000 the year before. The company added 36 sites in the year to reach a total of 212 - it has since added a further 15 by the end of August to have a total estate of 227. The company’s turnover increase of 23.9% follows turnover increases of 21.4% and 17.1% in successive previous years. The company stated that making a profit is ahead of the strategic plan by a full year. It reported that like-for-like sales grew significantly during the year and a tie-in with Welcome Break has increased brand recognition significantly with eight million visitors a year to its service stations coming across the brand. It stated: “The pizza market does however remain intensely competitive with significant promotional discounting continuing to take place in 2012 as in prior years – and this trend continued through to August 2013.” Online sales have grown to be 40% of all franchised sales and is expected to become the majority sales channel within two years. A total of £27,266,000 of total sales come from the UK with £1,149,000 coming from Ireland. The company added: “The directors remain confident that the Pizza John’s brand has made strides in our efforts to establish itself in the UK pizza sector and emulate the brand’s success in the US where the commitment to superior product quality has seen Papa John’s grow to become the third largest pizza company in the world. Having broken through the 200 store level Papa John’s has now become established as the third largest pizza delivery operator in the UK by a clear margin.”

Carluccio’s buys Irish franchise: Carluccio’s has acquired its franchise, Carluccio’s Ireland Limited in order to accelerate its growth in the country. The Italian group with 86 restaurants in the UK and overseas aims to open a further six sites across Ireland in the next few years. The rollout begins with the purchase of the previously franchised restaurant on Dawson Street in Dublin, one of the company’s top performing stores, located in one of the best retail destinations in the City. Simon Kossoff, Carluccio’s chief executive, said: ‘“We are delighted with the acquisition of Carluccio’s Ireland. Our team there has done a great job in difficult times and this transaction will allow them to take the business forward in the region.” Dawson Street will undergo a €250,000 refurbishment in the next few weeks and will reopen in late November with added covers and adopting the design of the company’s latest openings.