The lessons learnt scaling Nando's
The business news that matters.
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch…
Happy Friday everyone. As we head into a (mostly) warm weekend across the nation, we’re going to focus on something hot and spicy. A recent report found that 96 per cent of UK consumers were aware of the chain, but the story behind Nando’s is one that even that unaware 4 per cent would love.
The chain was founded in the twilight of apartheid South Africa in Rosettenville (above) in Johannesburg, which saw over 50,000 Portuguese immigrants move into the area between 1924 and 1972. It was the brainchild of co-founders Robbie Brozin and Fernando Duarte, who had never run a business or prepared food en masse. Here’s a timeline of the company’s journey:
Robbie Brozin has exclusively shared the five key lessons he’s learnt scaling the company here.
Podcast…
The latest episode of the Business Leader podcast covers the journey of one of Europe’s best-known entrepreneurs. In 1989, Mark Dixon had an idea: the traditional office didn’t work for many businesses and they needed something more flexible.
More than 30 years later, he has been proved right. IWG, the business he founded, is worth more than £2bn. It runs 4,000 serviced offices around the world, which millions of people use as a base to do their jobs and have meetings.
But it has been a challenging and often lonely battle to get IWG to this point. This is a story that involves rapid growth, Chapter 11 bankruptcy and flashy new rivals…
You can listen to the episode on Substack here, Spotify here and Apple here
Other stories that matter…
1. The 36th edition of The Sunday Times Rich List has dropped this morning, featuring 165 UK billionaires. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir James Dyson see the biggest falls in their wealth, while Sir Richard Branson’s fortune has fallen to £2.4bn, the same level as in 2000. You can see the full list here.
2. Emerald Isle staple Guinness is going green. Diageo has announced a €100m (£85.7m) investment to decarbonise its historic St. James’s Gate site in Dublin. The plans for the site, where Guinness has been brewed for more than 260 years, will transform both energy and water use as it aims to be one of the most efficient breweries in the world. You can read more here.
3. Lloyds is sticking by its tough stance on asking staff to return to the office, despite employee engagement dropping to its lowest level since 2014. This comes just three years after the banking group’s index hit a record high. You can read more here.
4. Britain’s talent level doesn’t match its ambition when it comes to AI, according to John Thornhill. Writing for the Financial Times, he says: “Britain certainly has good reason to applaud its ambitious AI researchers and entrepreneurs. But the country desperately needs to deepen and broaden adoption of the technology if it is to reap its full benefits.“ You can read the full piece here.
5. Six influencers have been charged for illegally promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange betting site in a landmark case. Stars from Geordie Shore, The Only Way is Essex and Love Island face the penalty of an unlimited fine and up to two years in jail. You can read more here.
And finally…
As we head into the final weekend of Premier League action, The Times has looked at the rise of coach Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard has guided Bayer Leverkusen from 17th in the German top flight to an unbeaten 50-game run and the first Bundesliga title in the club’s history.
Alonso’s managerial style is very different to that of recent coaching successes such as Jose Mourinho or Sir Alex Ferguson. Could football be giving us a glimpse into how leadership has evolved?
Read the full piece here.
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