Finance continues to bet on food. Especially the tricolor one. The last, in chronological order, concerns Pizzium, the Neapolitan pizza chain founded in 2017 in Milan, which announced the entry of Equinox into its corporate structure. The private equity fund acquired 40% of the capital by investing 6 million euros between capital increases and share purchases.
The control and management of the business remain in the hands of Stefano Saturnino, founder and CEO of Pizzium, and of Nanni Arbellini, founder and product development manager. “We have chosen to open the capital to Equinox because it will support our ambitious expansion plan and will allow us to further accelerate the development of the brand” comments Saturnino.
The entry into the fund’s capital should allow the company to “double its current size with the opening of at least 20 new pizzerias in the next two years, strengthening our presence in the geographic areas where we already have stores and also bringing the brand in new cities. In Equinox we have found the right partner to be able to face these challenges and we are very pleased to work with a fund that has shown to appreciate our path and our strategic choices ».
Pizzium now has 22 stores throughout the country and expects to return to pre-Covid turnover as early as 2021. The business plan also aims to achieve a turnover of around 40 million euros in 2023, with an EBITDA exceeding 20% already at end of 2021.
“Pizzium represents a reality of great interest that has attracted our attention both for its growth path and for the willingness of the founders to continue developing a project that has proven to be very successful” adds Angelo Facchinetti, partner of Equinox, explaining how the fund continues to “diversify its portfolio with a brand that enjoys high market recognition”.