Pieminister

About Pieminister

Pieminister is an award-winning and sustainably made pie and retail business based in Bristol, founded in 2003 by Jon Simon and Tristan Hogg. Once with an estate of 17 sites (now five), Pieminister also offers delivery and catering services and also supplies pubs, food retailers and markets, including a pie stall at London’s Borough Market. In August 2021, Pieminister launched a franchise opportunity in the UK, with the goal of having 100 pie shops and 300 digital pie restaurants by 2030. In February 2023 it opened its first franchise site, in Bath, followed by a second six months later, in Derby. Pieminister founder Jon Simon said: “We are delighted to see the brand continuing to flourish and are excited for the future. Bath is already off to a great start, and we look forward to spreading our love of great pies to even more cities across the UK.” In June 2023, Pieminister’s Nottingham site became the first to rebrand with a coffee, cocktail and brunch offering, with the renamed Long Row Social also opening earlier and staying open later. However, the site closed in May 2024. “It was probably our most ambitious restaurant,” the company said. “We opened with more than double the size of any other Pieminister. While we managed the space well pre-pandemic, it’s not right for post-pandemic and cost-of-living crisis eating-out patterns, with our costs so high nowadays and people still eating out less than before. We really hope to open again in Nottingham, in the not-too-distant future. We’ll just go for somewhere about a third of the size next time.” In December 2023, Pieminister signed West Lancashire-based Black 29 Holdings as a new franchisee as it looks to expand in the north. In its accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, the company said it had “exited a number of legacy larger-format restaurants”. It said: “As leases reached their natural conclusion, the group exited a number of legacy larger-format restaurants, either through lease assignment or termination at the end of lease terms. While these sites had historically performed well, they no longer aligned with current market conditions or the group’s efficiency objectives. This programme concluded with the closure of two restaurants post year-end, enabling the group to streamline operations, reduce central overheads, and refocus on a more compact, cost-efficient restaurant model. The result is a smaller but materially more profitable and agile estate, providing a stronger platform for a return to profitable growth in the forthcoming financial year, while maintaining the quality of experience and product that customers expect.” In January 2026, the company said while the last five years have been its most challenging ever, it has “never wavered on ethics or sustainability” - as it set out a target to reach net zero by 2040.

Why franchise with Pieminister

• ✓Franchisees should expect a minimum investment of £70,000 and a total investment of £130,00, with an initial franchise fee of £17,500 +VAT. Royalty fees are set at 5% and advertising fees 2%, with an average floor space of 1,000 square feet. Its two models are cafe (500-900 square feet, high football, urban locations, focus on speed and efficiency) and restaurant (800-1,500 square feet, located in cities, tourist locations and market towns, offering a full menu). With the product being centrally-made, both can be run with minimum staff levels and no skilled labour. A franchise should have a solid 5-10 years’ operational experience in the F&B industry, preferably in food franchising, £70,000 in liquid assets and the ability to secure their own funding. Pieminister and its retained franchise consultant, Seeds Consulting, will assist prospective franchisees by sharing property contacts and their experience in location selection and lease acquisition, and a business plan template. Pieminister has arranged for their franchise to be accredited with high street banks, ensuring franchisee applications have a higher success rate and a fast turnaround. Pieminister will design and project manage each franchise location internally, reducing reliance and extra costs. The initial support package extends to an 11-day training programme at a Pieminister restaurant or café, and a five-day ‘on-the-job’ handover at the franchisee’s location. Once the new store has commenced trading, Pieminister will visit regularly, and franchisees will benefit from their support team of operational and marketing support. The menu is rotated on a quarterly basis, with research and innovation in the form of new pies, recipe and menu development. Pieminister will manage all the supply chain and supplier accounts and will manage all national PR activity and social media channels, while providing support to any localised marketing and PR activity undertaken by its franchisees.
• ✓Director Gonzalo Trujillo, in the company’s accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022, said: “The directors have agreed that developing the Pieminister restaurant package as a franchise would unlock significant growth opportunities in the UK and abroad over the coming years. During the pandemic and the period under review, the team have been carefully distilling the essence of the model and created a compelling franchise package. The works have been completed with the aid of HSBC franchising division and Seeds consulting agency, who both have extensive experience in franchising restaurant brands in these regions. The preliminary works were completed during this period and marketing of the opportunity began towards the end of the year. The multiple spheres in which Pieminister pies and products can be purchased has helped introduce many people to the brand, its values and great tasting products. This has grown awareness across the UK and unlocked a unique opportunity to accelerate the roll out of Pieminister restaurants through franchising.”

Investment breakdown