Overall ranking: 11 (45)
Restaurant ranking: 3 (12)
David Page - Snapshot
David Page is a restaurant entrepreneur whose expertise lies in chain. He cut his teeth with PizzaExpress, which grew profitably from 23 branches to more than 350 under his stewardship. Page is now seeking to repeat this success with the four restaurant brands acquired by his latest venture, Clapham House Group, of which he is chairman.
David Page - Career guide
A trained teacher, David Page started his restaurant career as a dishwasher at a franchised PizzaExpress restaurant but by 1976 he was managing director of the brand’s largest and most successful franchise group.
Page played a major role in PizzaExpress’s flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 1993, when his franchise group merged with the newly-listed company. He rose from managing director to chief executive (in 1996) and chairman (in 1998). Page led a management buy-out bid in late 2002, but was outbid by Capricorn Ventures International and TDR Capital in June 2003.
Five months later, in November, Page raised £15m on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to fund their new company, Clapham House Group. In just over a year the group had bought three fledgling London-based brands to develop – the Real Greek Food Company, the Bombay Bicycle Club and Gourmet Burger Kitchen – and this year doubled its size with the acquisition of the 30-strong Tootsies burger chain.
David Page - What we think
David Page quickly proved his mettle as PizzaExpress’s largest and most profitable franchisee. He was instrumental in PizzaExpress’s successful flotation through the reverse takeover of the publicly-listed Star Computer Group and the pizza chain remained a stock market darling for nearly 10 years.
But by 2002, PizzaExpress’s winning offer of authentic, thin-base pizzas was coming under increasing pressure from upcoming rivals such as Ask. As profits started to fall and the share price plummeted to around 245p, the company was besieged by takeover approaches.
The most high-profile offers came from past and present directors. All, however, lost out to a consortium headed by Nando’s owner Capricorn Ventures International.
Undeterred, Page linked up with PizzaExpress finance director Paul Campbell to create Clapham House Group, which he describes as an incubator for new chains that will benefit from the cash injection and economies of scale Clapham House can provide. “We are a support vehicle for existing management and are an alternative to venture capital,” Page told Chain Leader magazine in early 2005.
Focusing on the full-service, mid-spend casual dining market, Page examined all styles of popular cuisine except pizza and pasta, which he felt was already dominated by four players. He opted for a three-strong Greek chain, a company with one Indian restaurant and five home delivery units, and a burger company with six restaurants.
The fourth brand, Tootsies burgers, joined the fold this March with the acquisition of the troubled Urban Dining.
The buy doubled the size of the group (which now has more than 60 outlets), took it beyond its M25 heartland and gave it a new foothold in the shopping centre market.
Earlier in the year, Clapham House also signed a deal to roll-out its Gourmet Burger Kitchen business across the Middle East.
Clapham House is now turning a profit of £684,000, compared with a loss of £605,000 in the year to June 2005.
David Page founded a second investment company, Clerkenwell Ventures, in 2004 which is scouring the landscape for high-growth leisure businesses, including hotel management contracts and health and fitness clubs.
David Page – Further Information
Clapham House Group company profile from CatererSearch
Clapham House Group official website
Clapham House Group profile on Google Finance
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