Activities

Nando’s operates a chain of licensed fast-casual restaurants based around the Portuguese-Mozambique speciality of fresh flame-grilled chicken spiced with peri-peri (the African bird’s-eye chilli). Nando’s was founded in South Africa and has expanded around the world through franchising.

The UK arm is owned by Capricorn Ventures International (CVI) which, in concert with TDR Capital, snapped up PizzaExpress in 2003 and Ask Central in 2004 to become the UK’s fourth largest restaurant group. CVI also owns The Grocery Company which runs the last surviving Cranks vegetarian restaurant (in Devon) and sells Nando’s and Cranks branded products to supermarkets.

Timeline

• 1987: Nando’s is founded in South Africa by partners Fernando Duarte and Robert Brozin as a takeaway concept.
• 1992: The father of current UK managing director Robby Enthoven opens the first Nando’s in the UK in Ealing Common, London, in April, followed by a second branch in Earls Court.
• 1993: Robby Enthoven takes over the struggling Earls Court branch and installs a new management team.
• 1995: Enthoven relaunches the concept to focus more on eating in than on takeaway sales. He refurbishes the first two sites and opens three new branches in Camden, Kingston-upon-Thames and Putney
• 1996: Nando’s announces a £4m expansion drive in the London area and opens its sixth site in Shepherd’s Bush.
• 2005: Nando’s announces its largest restaurant to date, with 180 seats, which opens in London’s Bankside during the late summer.

Operating data

Number of Nando’s restaurants worldwide: more than 400 in 30 countries.

Number of UK stores: 100

Number of staff in the UK: 2,500

Strategy

Nando’s UK plans to open another 20 branches in 2005.

Chief executive

Robert Brozin

Key directors

Managing director, UK: Robby Enthoven
International chief financial officer: Les Perlman

Contact

148 Upper Richmond Road
London
SW15 2SW

Website: http://www.nandos.com

Commentary

Enthoven has been credited with breaking new ground with Nando’s by bridging the gap between fast food and traditional restaurants.

But the first two outlets in the UK failed to take off initially and were struggling when Enthoven took over. Realising that the focus on takeaway sales that had been imported from the South African operation was not working in the UK, he successfully revamped the concept to give more emphasis to restaurant branding and design. Restaurants now average around 80 seats and takeaway sales have fallen from 40% to 20% of the sales mix.

The chain grew quickly and by 2002, when Enthoven won the Catey Restaurateur of the Year Award, it totalled 50 branches turning over £50m a year. Since then, the chain has doubled in size (to 100 outlets at the start of 2005) while maintaining healthy profits.

Nando’s philosophy is to have fun while making a profit. Restaurants are designed to reflect a family home and staff and guests are encouraged to feel like part of an extended family. Back in 1995, Enthoven introduced a scheme to allow restaurant managers to become partners in the business. This family ethos saw Nando’s make its first entry into the Sunday Times list of the UK’s best 100 employers in 2005, which it entered at number 33.