The Neapolitan-inspired pizzeria chain unveiled the expansion plans alongside its latest financial results for the year ended 30 June 2024, which included revenue of £34.4m, a 20% increase on the previous year (2023: £28.7m).
EBITDA rose 21% to reach £2.9m (2023: £2.4m), with the group noting that within this calculation is an expense relating to a share based payment provision of £121,000.
Overall, Pizza Pilgrims swung to a pre-tax loss of £0.1m over the period, a 116% decrease on the £0.7m profit reported the year before.
The group, which currently operates 25 sites across the country, said the loss was largely driven by the closure of its Oxford site in January 2024, describing it as a ‘strategic decision to strengthen the overall portfolio’.
It added that it believes the results reflect a ‘strong operational performance’ that ‘ensures continued investment in its people, ingredients and guest experience’.
“Our pizza pilgrimage to date has been a blast as we continue to focus on building a sustainable brand for the future – whilst staying true to our mission of making people happier, one pizza at a time,” said Thom Elliot, who launched Pizza Pilgrims with his brother, James, back in 2012.
“This has been another year of strong growth – led by [managing director] Gavin Smith, [finance director] Sophie Gilchriest, and our engaged, committed and loyal team who are so key to our success.”
With the current trading year looking to be ‘another period of strong growth’, with like for like growth of c.8% and an EBITDA margin at site level of over 20%, the group is in the throes of building a new pipeline of sites.
At least four additional restaurants will open in the next year, including locations in London’s King’s Cross, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.
Alongside its recent Scotland debut in Edinburgh, expansion into Wales is also in the works, with a new opening in Cardiff already in progress.
A possibly re-entry into the Oxford market is mooted for ‘the near future’ too.
New site expansion is almost entirely self-funded from free cash flow, the group added.
“We have successfully expanded our geographic footprint into new locations to encouraging acclaim up and down the country, reinforcing the scalability of the Pizza Pilgrims brand experience and its resonance with our pizza-loving customers,” Thom said.
In October last year, it was reported that Pizza Pilgrims had appointed advisors from PwC to explore strategic and investment options for its next stage of expansion, and was considering a relaunch of its New York pizza-by-the-slice concept Slice.
At the time, the group said it had had ‘exciting, unsolicited’ conversations with trade operators, international hospitality partners, global food service providers and financial institutions about its next steps.
*Update: This story was updated on 8/7/25 to remove a line saying EBITDA (before exceptional items) for Pizza Pilgrims fell 27.3% to £1.6m over the period. This change was made in light of amended financial results published to Companies House.