A Lanarkshire-based pizza firm has announced plans to open a host of new sites across Scotland and England next year – including two close to home.
Boss Pizza plans to expand to both Coatbridge and Cumbernauld during 2025, as well as proposing to open in Glasgow and Aberdeen, plus south of the border at Hemel Hempstead, Huddersfield, Luton, Oldham and Wolverhampton.
The company has also this week been nominated in the category of “emerging pizza brand of the year” at a restaurant industry awards ceremony taking place next month.
Boss recently opened a new headquarters space at Waverley House in Caird Park – five years after opening its original store at Almada Street in Hamilton, while its branch at Union Street in Larkhall recently marked its second anniversary.
It also has a branch in the Acton area of London and forthcoming stores at Shepherds Bush in the capital as well as Manchester; and has now “confirmed the opening of new stores” at the range of new locations, with further details about specific locations to be made available in the new year.
Announcing the plans, the company said: “This move will enable us to expand the head office team and accelerate growth nationwide – the new headquarters along with the new locations will allow Boss Pizza to create new jobs across several areas.”
Chief executive Ajmal Mushtaq added: “This is a very exciting time – the response to and demand for our brand of pizzas has been incredible and exceeded our expectations, and we’re delighted to be expanding across the UK.”
He told Lanarkshire Live as plans began in 2023 to open in Acton: “We want to become a UK brand and to focus on building the brand across major cities. It’s exciting to make that leap and it’s testament to the great work done by the teams in our Lanarkshire shops day in and day out.”
The company says Boss is “valued at £2 million and has ambitious growth plans in place, further enabled recently with a new headquarters in Hamilton”.
Operations manager Ross Findlay said of the plans for 2025: “We have invested heavily in our new head office, a bigger support team and our distribution capabilities – this will really help accelerate growth across the UK and provide the franchisees the best possible support service.
“We have been overwhelmed by the success of our brand of fresh dough pizzas. It is testament to the team’s total commitment to providing the best possible pizzas at a very attractive price point.”
Staff are also celebrating Boss Pizza’s shortlisting for the British QSR franchise awards taking place in Birmingham in November, where the Hamilton company is the only Scottish nominee among 10 in the category.
The awards celebrate “the finest in food brands and franchisees across the UK”, with judges assessing elements including company achievements, reviews, community work and sustainability.
Franchise director Michael Housten said: “We are truly honoured that our young brand has been shortlisted alongside industry heavyweights [thanks to] the hard work of our amazing team.”
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