Finally, you can get Pizza Express delivered to your door
Middle class pizza lovers rejoice – you can now get those delicious dough balls and more delivered straight to your door from Pizza Express.
The high street chain has inked a deal with restaurant delivery startup Deliveroo to get its menu to people sat at home on their sofa in addition to those who visit the restaurant.
Just under half of its restaurants – 206 in total – will deliver by the end of July after the service starts on Wednesday (1 June) with locations in London, Guildford, Leicester, Manchester and Dublin.
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But there are plans to eventually cover all 460 Pizza Express restaurants across the UK and abroad, and Milano's in Dublin, which is also part of the chain owned by private equity firm Hony Capital.
The partnership, the specific terms of which were not disclosed, is a coup for the London-based startup which last year landed $70m (£45m) and then a further $100m from top VC investors, and counts as its biggest partnership to date joining a line up that also includes Busaba Eathai, Carluccio’s and Gourmet Burger Kitchen.
“Pizza Express is one of the biggest and best loved restaurant brands in the UK and Ireland, and one of our customers’ favourites," Deliveroo boss, Will Shu, said.
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"It’s been our long standing ambition to deliver our much loved pizza to customers at home; however the challenge has been to find a way to deliver our products nationwide, to restaurant standard," said Pizza Express chief, Richard Hodgson.
"Deliveroo is a perfect fit for us, as they are dedicated to providing excellent delivery logistics to the restaurant industry," he added.
Deliveroo's USP (unique selling point) is that it lets any restaurant deliver without the hassle of having to set up an often expensive and costly delivery service, with Deliveroo's logistics – an online ordering platform and a fleet of cyclists – giving businesses access to more customers, and customers more choice of food – now including Pizza Express.