Itsu

About Itsu

Itsu is an East Asian-inspired fast-food chain founded in 1997 by Julian Metcalfe and Clive Schlee, launching in London that same year before opening its first regional site, in Oxford, in 2013, and passing the 50-site mark the following year. Itsu made its US debut, in New York, in 2018, and expanded into France in 2020. The summer of 2020 saw Itsu launch a CVA process, which saw 53 of its 77 sites get a rent cut and only two close, as well as securing £4.3m of new funding and agreeing an operational turnaround plan. In June 2021, Itsu partnered with the team behind the almost Pizza Hut restaurant franchise, Heart with Smart Group, to launch its first franchise, with the then circa 70-strong saying it saw the potential for 150 UK restaurants. That same month, it signed a significant deal with international alternative asset group, Bridgepoint, with the plans for the partnership including 100 new restaurants over five years. Itsu’s first franchise site opened in the summer of 2021, in Reading, while at the same time, it signed a second franchise deal, with Savvi Dining Group, to open in Leicester. Its first international franchise site followed in November 2021, at Brussels airport, in partnership with Autogrill. In June 2022, Itsu signed a master franchise deal for France with Group Bertrand, and the following month, it signed a new development partnership with IVI Holdings, led by Atul Pathak, formerly the UK’s largest McDonald’s franchisee, launching their first site together in Wembley. Itsu launched its first hot menu in March 2023, and later that year signed a new partnership with Scoffs Group, the largest Costa Coffee franchisee in the UK, with the first site opening in Exeter. At the same time, it announced plans to more than double its then circa 80-strong UK estate and explore further European territories. In September 2024, Itsu extended its banking facilities in order to support its expansion plans, while Metcalfe said the company’s grocery arm will soon be bigger than its restaurant business. In December 2024, Itsu said it is venturing beyond the high street as it builds new partnerships, while Metcalfe said he sees a pathway to 500 Itsu sites within ten years. In February 2025, Metcalfe, said he thinks the business “embraced technology too quickly” and has begun adding back staffed tills. In May 2025, Metcalfe said the business always knew franchising “would take time”. He said: “Itsu restaurants are quite complicated. Our managers, operations managers and our academy operate a complex, pretty beautiful system, and it’s not perfect for handing over a modest sum of money expecting to return huge profits. It takes huge passion and experience and learning. But we’re seeing real potential, but I think some of us always knew it would take time.” In June 2025, Itsu started to reopen its previous franchise sites with Heart with Smart, which went into administration. On its future franchising plans, Itsu chief executive Clive Schlee told Propel: “We continue to partner our other UK franchisees in Exeter, Leicester, Nottingham, Wembley and Windsor. As far as new openings are concerned, our franchising is focused on securing more top-class travel hubs in Europe.” In September 2025, Schlee told Propel the circa 80-strong business is looking to reinvigorate its franchising and will be looking in both the UK and internationally for new partners. Schlee said: “We have a team built to help us reinvigorate that part of the business. We will be looking both in the UK, in the major regional cities and overseas, initially in the transport hubs, because they're so Itsu friendly. We are opening in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, and we'll build our relationships from there. We're looking in Spain quite hard at the moment too.”

Why franchise with Itsu

• ✓Itsu is looking for franchisees passionate about healthy eating and who share its commitment to quality and sustainability. An Itsu franchise requires a minimum investment £100,000, with the investment level £100,001-£250,000. Support in terms of sourcing and supply. Itsu’s back of house systems & supply chain includes research and development, in-house recipe development, nutritionists support and in-house chefs, in-house technical support, sourcing of Asian food, factory audits and negotiations, warehouse management and logistics, in-house design, in-house purchasing team and in-house logistics professionals. Support in terms of marketing and branding include in-house digital marketing team, in-house social media team, in-house graphic design team, in-house shop marketing team, BOM development and campaigns, major marketing campaigns, TV advertising and paid influencers, Itsu campaign management and paid social media campaigns. The company said: “Itsu benefits from strong systems built over two decades. The company is now robust and ready to grow in new territories with carefully selected quality partners. Itsu combines a high number of transactions with a mid-market ATV, making it the perfect partnership model with high gross profit, simple operations, affordable capex and a handsome return on capital. Our partners need [and deserve] excellent returns on their valuable capital. The Itsu formula guarantees simple, consistent, operational excellence, the result of 20 years of development. Unlike most partnerships/franchise operators, Itsu does not rely on an 800-page manual to support managers, staff and customers. Research confirms these official ‘documents’ provide little support to operators on the front line. Instead, Itsu has developed branded video games, how-to digital platforms and easy to use ‘hazards and butterflies’ to reward and motivate our partners on a regular basis. The Itsu partnership model is contemporary, practical and dynamic, and it supports the sharp end of the business, where the war to inspire customers is won and lost.”

Investment breakdown