Coco di Mama to expand following Azzurri's acquisition of Pod

24-Jun-2019 - Last updated on 27-Apr-2021 at 12:23 GMT

Related tags Casual dining Restaurant

Healthy breakfast and lunch restaurant brand Pod has been brought by the Azzurri Group as part of a ‘pre-pack’ deal after the chain fell into administration last week.

The casual dining group, which operates Italian brands including Zizzi, ASK Italian and Radio Alice, has acquired 13 of Pod's 22 restaurants for an undisclosed sum.

All 13 restaurants will continue to operate as Pod for now, with Azzurri intending to eventually convert a number of them into Coco di Mama sites over the next 12 months.

The group says the move will help safeguard more than 170 jobs.

Administrators RSM has confirmed that the other nine Pod sites will be closed, resulting in 90 redundancies.

Quick-service Italian concept Coco di Mama was founded by Jeremy Sanders and Daniel Land in 2011.

The brand was acquired by the Azzurri Group four years ago, and has since grown from six to 22 sites.

“We are pleased with the strong growth and rapid expansion of Coco di Mama since it joined us in 2015, and this deal will accelerate our position in this growing sector,” says Azzurri Group CEO Steve Holmes.

At present the Azzurri Group operates 294 restaurants in the UK, as well as three in the Republic of Ireland and one in China.