Pizza king points to youth joblessness as restaurant group eyes takeovers
The boss of restaurant group Bow Street raised concerns over youth joblessness as the firm behind Dim T slipped into an annual loss, but outlined his dealmaking plans.
David Page, now the chief executive of the Aim-listed firm, is a former boss of Pizza Express and played a key role in the expansion of Franco Manca and Gourmet Burger Kitchen.
The restaurant tycoon said he is concerned by the level of youth joblessness in the UK, with the number of young people out of work, training or education nearing one million.
He told Morning Wire: “It’s got easier to hire and more difficult for people to find jobs.
“I started washing dishes in a restaurant when I was a student, and I could have walked into any restaurant and got a job. That’s probably not the case now.”
Page said the firm’s brands have a long-serving workforce but he is focusing on bringing in young, early-career workers as part of his revamp of the group.
Restaurant group in takeover talks
Bow Street is in the midst of a turnaround, having rebranded from its previous name Tasty last year.
Page has been joined at Bow Street by longstanding business partner Nick Wong as chief financial officer.
The restaurant group is in takeover talks with multiple restaurant firms, eyeing an expanded presence after it shut 16 underperforming sites in 2024.
Page said he is “pretty enthusiastic” about Bow Street’s prospects, with like-for-like sales across the group having grown by 6.1 per cent in March.
The firm is looking at between four and six takeover deals in the next three years, he said.
The talks include “a couple of Asian quick service businesses”. Bow Street has signed non-disclosure agreements with “three or four” firms over potential acquisitions in recent months.
Page said: “We’re looking at any cuisine really. We want to own restaurants that we are proud to say that we own when we meet our friends.
“If we like it, then the customer is going to like it. It could be quick service, it could be table service, or a mixture of the two, as long as the food’s great and the price is good for the consumer.”
Bow Street’s new menus and estate investment are partly designed to shield the firm against the impact of higher business rate bills and minimum wage hikes, which came into force this month.
Page’s ideal acquisition targets are restaurants which offer meals at between £10 and £25 per head and currently operate between three and eight sites – with capacity for expansion to up to 40 sites.
Bow Street slips to loss
The acquisitive chief executive said he has eaten at every restaurant under the group’s management since his appointment, and is rolling out a new menu across the Wildwood sites.
Bow Street’s revenue fell by 15 per cent to £31m in the financial year to December. It slipped to a pre-tax loss of £9m, having made a £16m in pre-tax profit in the year before.
Shares in the London-listed firm jumped two per cent on Wednesday, to 0.30p, leaving the stock down more than 26 per cent this year.
There are four Dim T restaurants across the UK, with four Wildwood site closures bringing the number of locations in its Italian casual dining brand to 28.