Domino's Pizza Group plc

History

The Domino's Pizza company was founded in 1960, by American entrepreneur Tom Monaghan as a single pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The first store in the UK opened in Luton in 1985.

The master franchise for the British Isles was sold off by the parent company in 1993 to Domino's Pizza Group, a subsidiary of the International Franchise Systems holding company controlled by sibling investors Colin and Gerry Halpern. The company partially floated its shares on London's Alternative Investment Market in October 1999, by which time it had expanded to a network of almost 200 branches (of which all but eight were franchises). Certain investors such as Colin Halpern and property entrepreneur Nigel Wray retained significant stakes at this time.

The company opened its 400th store in Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield in November 2005. The 500th store opened in the end of 2007, in Hatfield, with the 600th following in December 2009, in High Holborn, Central London, being opened by Stavros Flatley. The Domino's share transferred from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2008, and was promptly added to the FTSE 250 Index at the next quarterly review the following month. The 2000th European Domino's store was opened at Kier Park, in Hemel Hempstead in August 2013.

Germany

In April 2011, the group acquired a majority stake in the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchise Domino's Pizza stores in Germany. As of April 2021 there are over 330 stores in Germany.

The first German store opened in Berlin in 2010, and today, the company has five in the city. Other store locations also include Bonn and Aachen. The Domino's store in Cologne was one of three stores opening on that day, which were recognised as the 5,000th international store for Domino's Pizza Inc. The other two 5,000th stores were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil & Penang, Malaysia.

Switzerland

On 24 September 2012, Domino's Pizza Group acquired Domino's Pizza Switzerland AG, which provides the company with the exclusive right to operate and franchise Domino's stores in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, as well as an option to acquire the Master Franchise Agreement for Austria. In 2021 the loss-making chain was sold for CHF 300,000 to an undisclosed buyer.

Latest history

In November 2025, the company's UK chief executive, Andrew Rennie, left the company with immediate effect. Rennie was replaced on an interim basis by COO Nicola Frampton who was later confirmed as the permanent CEO in March 2026.

Financial information

^1 - Accounts to 2005 prepared according to United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Accounts from 2006 onwards prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards.

Operations

Prospective franchisees are required to pay approximately £280,000 to the parent company for the right to operate their own Domino's Pizza outlet. Once established, the group also provides other services for the franchisee including production of dough, sourcing and delivery of ingredients and training. The group also delivers IT, advertising and other administrative services on behalf of the franchisees.

Domino's has a central commissary system which makes dough, and supplies this and other ingredients to each store.

Products

In May 2012, Domino's signed up to Out of Home Calorie Labelling Pledge, which is part of the Government's Responsibility Deal. This saw the introduction of calorie information on Domino's main ordering website. In June 2012, the company signed up to the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement managed by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), the Government funded organisation responsible for improving waste reduction and recycling.

In November 2012, Domino's launched a gluten free pizza in its stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, accredited by Coeliac UK.