Yard Sale Pizza secures Piper backing, sees potential for more than 500 UK locations: Piper, the private equity backer of Flat Iron and Turtle Bay Restaurants, has acquired a stake in Yard Sale Pizza, the restaurant and delivery business that has sector investor Paul Campbell as chairman, with plans to near triple the size of the current 14-strong business over the next five years. Yard Sale was co-founded by Johnnie Tate and Nick Buckland in 2014, and has been seeking new investment since summer 2023. Piper said the new investment would help the business to supercharge its growth across the capital and into new UK cities. Piper said the investment will help Yard Sale expand further across London and into new cities, with a goal of reaching 40 shops in five years. Piper said a recent project with CACI identified the potential for more than 500 UK locations in total. Piper will also support further technology investment to enhance the “brand’s seamless and personalised customer experience, alongside continued innovation in collaborations and partnerships”. Piper is partnering with Tate and Nick Buckland, who will continue to lead the brand, alongside chair Campbell, who has worked closely with the business over recent years. Tate said: “We are excited to be entering this new era for Yard Sale with Piper’s investment. Since we first met, Piper’s understanding, enthusiasm and shared vision for the business has been clear. Piper has a proven track record in scaling exceptional brands and I am delighted to be partnering with it for our next phase of growth. As we continue to obsess over delivering the very best pizzas, this partnership will allow us to reach even more local neighbourhoods across London and the UK. Finally, a big shout out to the whole team at Yard Sale – you are the key to our success now and in the future!” The deal sees Piper, which previously backed Hickory’s, Be At One and Loungers, make its first investment in the sector since it began backing Flat Iron in 2017. Yard Sale opened its 14th site in the capital, in Earlsfield earlier this year. The company reported a 14% increase in like-for-like sales in the year to April 2024, with turnover at £10.8m and company Ebitda of £1.3m. Turnover for the year ending April 2025 is £13m. The company, which has focused its expansion on London “villages” and “neighbourhood areas”, previously told Propel that due to the success of its proven operating model, it viewed Yard Sale as having the potential to grow to in excess of 150 locations. It said that it planned to secure investment so that the "immense opportunity that Yard Sale is facing can be harnessed". Tate previously told Propel that while the business believes there's still a lot of opportunity inside London, “especially in neighbourhood areas”, it also believed there was plenty of potential for the brand regionally. At the start of this year, the company hired Sarah Hiraki as its new chief marketing officer. Hiraki brought a wealth of extensive digital and creative experience from her previous role at Smartly, an artificial intelligence-powered advertising technology platform where she was head of creative, working with brands like Nike, Amazon, Sainsbury's, Just Eat and Deliveroo. The company said Hiraki's appointment followed an “extremely strong year” as it entered its 11th year of trading. Her appointment saw Sam Briggs, the company's marketing director, step into a non-executive role. 

Scottish peri peri chicken franchise secures its first three London locations and reveals other target cities in England: Scottish peri peri chicken franchise Black Rooster has secured its first three London locations and revealed its other target cities in England. Propel revealed in January that Black Rooster – which was founded by Mick Kennedy and Kevin Bell in 2017 and has grown to 18 locations across Scotland – was set to make its English debut, in the capital. Bell has now said its first full store in England will be in Chapel Market in Angel, north London. “The deal is done – more than 1.25 million Londoners will soon be able to get Black Rooster delivered straight to their door,” he said. “Our biggest move yet – from zero to three London locations in just a few weeks. A bricks-and-mortar store in Angel and two delivery-only kitchens, launching across key parts of the city. London – Black Rooster Peri Peri is coming!” Propel understands that Black Rooster is looking for franchise partners to expand further across the capital, as well as for major UK cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Sheffield and Bristol. The business said it is ideal for “high-footfall areas with strong delivery demand and high-repeat customer rates”, and that its target audience of 18 to 24-year-olds “drives repeat business, making cities with large student populations ideal for rapid growth”. Black Rooster features in the UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database, which now features a total of 340 companies, and which is exclusive to Premium Club subscribers. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.