Azzurri Group hails 2025 as a "transformative year"

Azzurri Group, the hospitality business behind ASK Italian, Zizzi, Coco di Mama, Boojum and Dave’s Hot Chicken, has announced its full year results for the year ended 30 June 2025.

Its diversified portfolio approach delivered robust financial performance, producing revenue of £303.1m (2024: £303.1m), gross profit of £38.2m (2024: £41.9m) and a operating loss of £2.7m (2024: £0.4m).

This converted to underlying adjusted EBITDA of £31.6m, excluding £1.4m of strategic investments in Dave's Hot Chicken and Boojum's UK expansion, which have resulted in losses in the period. Total reported adjusted EBITDA was £30.2m.

Fried chicken fame

In what the group is calling a "transformative year", the period saw its entry into the fast-growing fried chicken segment, with Dave's Hot Chicken arriving in central London. This coincides with the launch of the industry's first ever Fried Chicken Championships, which takes place in January 2026.

The launch of Azzurri's first Dave's Hot Chicken on London's Shaftesbury Avenue in December 2024 expanded its operations to five distinct brands. The business says it has built a strong pipeline of identified sites to accelerate Dave's rollout across the UK & Ireland throughout FY26 and FY27, as previously reported by Dine Out.

Coco di Mama achieved the strongest like-for-like performance in the group, supported by proposition improvements, growth in its Roadchef partnership and the nationwide launch of its sourdough baguettes across over 1,000 Sainsbury's stores.

ASK and Zizzi remain the "profitable bedrock" of Azzurri, once again showing strong unit economics. The groups says their consistent performance provides the foundation for our strategic diversification and growth investments.

Plans for growth

"Last year, we consolidated our strategy to deliver outstanding food, service and value through a balanced portfolio of high-performing brands, supported by a platform that drives operational excellence and innovation," says Steve Holmes, chief executive officer of Azzurri Group. "Doing so enabled us to successfully navigate the challenging UK hospitality backdrop and deliver a robust financial performance.

"Looking to the year ahead, we have exciting plans for all of the different growth levers we benefit from. Our established brands, ASK and Zizzi, will continue to innovate and strengthen their leading positions. We will advance our plans to replicate Boojum’s huge Irish success in Great Britain. Coco di Mama will build on its significant opportunities in supermarkets and in delivery kitchens. Most excitingly of all, we have an ambitious pipeline of sites across the UK for Dave’s Hot Chicken and will also start our expansion plans in Continental Europe. 

"I would like to thank our teams for their exceptional energy and commitment in delivering both operational excellence and strategic growth, and our customers, partners and shareholders for their continued trust and support as we execute our vision for the future."

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