New look for Bella Pasta

Related tags Iraq war Italian cuisine

Major restaurant group Tragus Holdings yesterday said it would
re-brand its entire division of 64 Bella Pasta restaurants, after
posting maiden pre-tax profits of £5.7 million (€8.19 million.)

The London- based company, which purchased Bella Pasta and Cafe Rouge for £25 million from Whitbread in May last year, has announced that the new chain will be called Bella Italia.

The six month change will involve a top-to-bottom redesign, with a new menu and interior in an effort to convey the ambience of a traditional Italian trattoria.

Finlay Scott, chief executive of Tragus Holdings, said the company had generated a turnover of over £95 million in its first year of trading, despite the Iraq war causing touch and often unstable market conditions, amid fears of the Sars virus, which significantly cut tourist trade.

"French and Italian dining are timeless sectors, not subject to the fads that afflict so many other dining brands, and Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge have seen the benefits of this"​ said Mr Scott, a former head of the Aroma Cafe chain.

Tragus Holdings​ operates 155 restaurants in the United Kingdom, including 77 Cafe Rouge outlets and its smaller Mamma Amalfi and Abbaye brands.

Bella Pasta, now Bella Italia, is the leading mid-market pasta restaurant chain offering a menu of pasta, pizza and other traditional Italian dishes. Bella Pasta has sites in central London and major metropolitan and provincial towns located predominantly in high street and retail / leisure complexes.

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