Caprinos Pizza to double footprint through global expansion
Low setup costs and royalty fees have made franchising more accessible.
Caprino’s Pizza Ltd. plans to open three restaurants in Saudi Arabia by year-end as part of an expansion plan to double its branches to 200 by 2030.
“We had a lot of international franchise inquiries over the last few years, but we thought to hold that until we hit that 100-mark to make sure everything was ready for us to support that expansion,” Khalil Rehman, co-founder of Caprinos Pizza, told QSR Media.
Caprinos has 106 restaurants now, more than 100 of which are across England, Scotland, and Wales. Its international footprint includes one restaurant in Ireland and three in Pakistan.
Rehman said they plan to grow selectively, focusing on strategic markets rather than expanding everywhere. Aside from the Middle East, Rehman said they are eyeing markets like the US and India over the long term.
Rehman founded Caprinos Pizza with Gul Nawaz in a small town in Oxfordshire in 2014. After a positive response to its launch, Caprinos Pizza started its expansion, opening one restaurant yearly.
All branches were company-owned before they started franchising in 2018, with 30% of franchisees coming from existing staff.
“One of our most successful franchisees started as a driver,” Rehman said via Zoom. “He now runs three sites.”
This internal pipeline wasn’t planned but developed organically as the staff grew passionate about the brand. “Initially, we were hesitant. But it became part of our success story,” he pointed out.
Caprinos low setup costs and 3% royalty fee — amongst the lowest in the market — also made franchising more accessible. In comparison, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s charge 5–6% royalties plus marketing fees.
Funding, however, was a major hurdle. Most franchisees relied on savings or loans from friends and family, limiting multi-unit growth.
Still, trust ran deep. Many early franchisees were former employees or close contacts, helping the brand grow through strong relationships and referrals.
“As we scale, we’ve had to evolve,” Rehman said, citing a shift toward partnering with experienced, multi-unit franchisees and professionalising their recruitment process.
He said competition in the UK pizza market has grown in the past three years. He noted that more US fast-food brands have entered the UK despite economic uncertainty.
Rehman thinks a creative menu is the key to keep winning customers over.
Caprinos sales rose 13.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared with 5.5% growth for 2024 despite market conditions, competition, and flat prices.
“We stand for affordable, good quality pizza, so we don’t tend to increase prices,” Rehman said. “Last year, we didn’t increase prices at all.”
“We don’t want to increase prices, but we will if we have to, but if it's just a little difference, and we may try to absorb it again. It's already difficult for consumers to spend money these days, so we don't want to put more burden on them,” he added.
The company, which has its own fleet of delivery riders, recently invested in its IT infrastructure to improve its delivery system, which now monitors every single order from placement to delivery.
“We used to have a lot of complaints about late deliveries,” Rehman said. “This is an ongoing challenge.”
“To monitor that, we needed to have this system because when you call the franchisee, they’ll say everything is in order. We needed something to let us actually see if that was true,” he added.
Now, Rehman gets a report each morning. “If an order went past its delivery time, I see the report, and it’s in red. If it happens too many times, you can call the local area manager or franchisee and ask what is happening.”
The group plans to open 20 new restaurants this year. Rehman believes that the brand’s combination of affordable pricing, innovative flavours, and investments in marketing and operations will be important drivers of long-term, sustainable growth. “We truly believe the sky is the limit for Caprinos,” Rehman said.
