The Big Table Group Limited
Bella Italia
TypePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
ParentThe Big Table
Websitebellaitalia.co.uk

The Big Table Group Limited,[1] trading as Bella Italia (formerly known as Bella Pasta),[2] is a chain of over 90 restaurants offering meals inspired by Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom[3] and Ireland. The chain is part of The Big Table, which also owns Café Rouge and Las Iguanas.

History

Bella Italia started life as two small restaurant chains - Pastificio and Pizzaland both of which were part of the Grand Metropolitan group.[4]

In 1990, Michael Guthrie (former Chairman of Mecca Leisure Group) formed BrightReasons and bought the Pizzaland and Pastificio chains from Grand Metropolitan for £20m in February 1991, rebranding Pastificio to Bella Pasta in the process.[5]

In February 1993, BrightReasons purchased 43 Pizza Piazza and Prima Pasta restaurants from Rank Organisation for £20.25m,[6] bringing their total number of restaurants to 165.

In May 1994, BrightReasons started preparing for a stock market flotation, and the group was expected to be valued at between £70m-£100m.[7] This was subsequently announced in September,[8] however, in November 1994, the planned flotation was postponed.[9]

In November 1996, BrightReasons was put up for sale[10] after suffering a particularly tough trading period in 1995.[11] In November 1996, BrightReasons was acquired by Whitbread for £46m,[12] but was sold off less than six years later for £25m to Tragus Holdings[13] (later renamed Casual Dining Group).

In December 2002, the Bella Pasta chain was rebranded as Bella Italia and the first fully branded restaurant opened in Leeds.

In September 2012, Bella Italia joined the Nectar loyalty card reward scheme as a redemption partner.[14]

In September 2013, Bella Italia began a partnership with the Gourmet Society, offering their members discounts on production of a Gourmet Society restaurant discount card.

In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in May 2020 Bella Italia's owner Casual Dining Group announced that it was working with advisors on next steps for the overall business as a prudent measure to protect the company whilst planning for the future.[15] In July 2020, Casual Dining Group was placed into administration with 35 Bella Italia outlets set to close.[16] Branches in Plymouth, Newbury and Luton Airport permanently closed as administrators began selling off the group's assets.[17]

Cuisine

The menu combines pizza and pasta, which is their main focus, with a range of grill and speciality dishes.[18][19][20] The food is complemented by some Italian wines - many from smaller producers - beers and soft drinks.[19][21]

Tipping and minimum wage

In 2009 the company was found to be threatening to dismiss waiting staff who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips were used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to waiting staff.[22] In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, Tragus Ltd reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after a 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, were distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff.

In 2015, Bella Italia amended its policy to ensure all employees are permitted to keep all tips and service charges paid in cash and are free to share their tips with colleagues if they so wish. Their employees are required to declare the income generated from cash tips to HM Revenue & Customs for tax purposes. When tips or service charges are paid for by credit card or debit card, the restaurant does take a 2.5% administration charge to cover bank fees before distributing the remainder in full to employees.[23] All restaurant employees are paid tips in addition to the National Minimum Wage.

Environmental record

In November 2015 the chain received the worst rating of all restaurants surveyed in an assessment of the sustainability of its seafood.[24] After working closely with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Bella Italia came second in Fish2Fork's analysis of the fish sourcing policies of high street restaurants in 2017.[25]

Philanthropy

In June 2012, Bella Italia began officially supporting The Children's Society by donating some of the profit from a selected dish on the menu to the charity.[26]

In 2013, Bella Italia officially partnered with Comic Relief, the British charity founded in 1985 that aims to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people."[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "THE BIG TABLE GROUP LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Privacy Policy". Bella Italia. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Tragus Group - Our brands - Bella Italia". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Nisse, Jason (19 January 1994). "Facing away from Mecca: Michael Guthrie has learned the dangers of debt". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Blackhurst, Chris. "My best deal - The business rejuvenator - MICHAEL GUTHRIE". Management Today. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Murray, John (20 February 1993). "BrightReasons buys Rank food outlets". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "BrightReasons prepares for flotation". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Guthrie serves £70m flotation". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. January 2000. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "BrightReasons stalls flotation". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. January 2000. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Cope, Nigel (2 November 1996). "Whitbread eyes pounds 40m BrightReasons sites". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  11. ↑ Sangster, Andrew (January 2000). "BrightReasons in sales talks after tough 1995". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "BrightReasons Group". Glasgow Herald. 28 November 1996. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Whitbread sells restaurant groups". Evening Standard. 31 May 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Tragus joins Nectar promo". Peach Report. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  15. ↑ "Notice of Intention". Casual Dining Group.
  16. ↑ "Bella Italia owner falls into administration, with loss of 1,900 jobs". The Guardian. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  17. ↑ Heward, Emily; O'Leary, Miles (2 July 2020). "Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge and Las Iguanas full list of restaurant closures as Casual Dining Group goes into administration". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  18. ↑ David Collins, Northern Correspondent (12 November 2017). "Restaurants' pasta war serves up steaming pile of insults". The Times. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  19. 1 2 Evans, Denise (15 February 2016). "Bella Italia reaches landmark 15th year in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  20. ↑ Hyde, Dan (16 March 2015). "The 10 most salty children's meals in restaurants". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "Bella Italia Menus". Bella Italia. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  22. ↑ Elliott, Jamie (28 June 2009). "Cafe waiters fear the axe over cash tips". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  23. ↑ "Our tips policy".
  24. ↑ Rebecca Smithers (18 November 2015). "More than half of UK's family restaurant chains serving unsustainable seafood | Environment". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  25. ↑ "Restaurant Chain Sustainable fish use rises, but diners still unsure". 20 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Bella Italia is fundraising for us". The Children's Society. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  27. ↑ "Bella Italia - Comic Relief 2014 by Hannah". issuu. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
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