Burger King franchisee CPL Food Group lines up nine Papa John’s openings: Papa John’s has reported fast food franchise CPL Food Group, which runs 32 Burger King restaurants, is to open four Papa John’s by the end of 2016 – and five more in 2017. Management of the stores will be by CPL Pizza Restaurants owned and operated by Lamen Reddy and his business partner and investor Costa Peridakis. Lamen Reddy said: “Papa John’s is a brand chain that works and it’s focused on growth. We first looked at Papa John’s a few years ago and more recently met up with some franchisees who recommended the opportunity. The product is the best in the market, so we believe investing in Papa John’s stores will complement our overall business portfolio. We took over Skegness recently and a new store opened in Accrington at the end of September. In addition to further openings planned for this year, we will also add a further five new Papa John’s in 2017. The company’s incentive scheme designed to help with store openings has been helpful. With deals on equipment, discounted fees and assistance with marketing, there has never been a better time to invest in Papa John’s and we are looking forward to tasting a successful future. To realise our ambitions, it is essential we have the backing of a great team behind us. The Papa John’s head office staff have been particularly supportive, plus we also have our own in-house operations manager, Christopher Cartilage, and our brand manager Lauren Christiansen, who make up just a small part of the talented group of people who manage our business on a day-to-day basis.” Last Friday, Propel reported Papa John’s saw turnover in the UK rise 19.6% to hit £50,530,000 in the year to 27 December 2015, up from £42,246,000 the year before. A total of 37 extra stores were open in the year, compared with 282 sites open at the end of 2014. Pre-tax profit was £3,897,000, compared with £2,273,000 the year before. The company stated: “Prior year’s turnover increased by 20% in 2014. Turnover has increased through a combination of store growth and increased like-for-like sales from continuing operations in the franchised Pizza John’s network. For the tenth consecutive year underlying comparable sales of our UK outlets grew. The pizza market does, however, remain intensely competitive with significant promotional discounting taking place in 2015 as previous years. Given that the company has had periods of sustained profits and continues to forecast profits, the company has recognised a deferred tax asset of £1,207,000.”