Domino's Pizza UK & IRL - History

History

The Domino's Pizza company was founded in 1960 by American entrepreneur Tom Monaghan as a single pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Through franchising, the firm had opened 200 American locations by 1978. The first British branch opened in Luton in 1985, with expansion into Ireland following six years later, with a store in Dublin.

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 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, with the 500th following in late 2007 in Hatfield. 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. In 2009, Domino’s 600th store opened in High Holborn and the company’s first mobile unit took to the road, attending its first festival at Download. The 700th store opened in Willesden in 2011.