The British pastry shop Prestat becomes Italian: according to what the Financial Times wrote, which also interviewed the Friulian manager, it was bought by Riccardo Illy, president of the dynasty of coffees but also of sweets, given that they are already part of the Trieste agri-food group – among others – Domori chocolates and Agrimontana jams. From today, there is also the Prestat brand, which across the Channel is not just any brand: is that of the legendary Chocolate Factory, considered the source of inspiration for Roald Dahl's book "Charlie and the chocolate factory", from which cartoons, musicals and above all very successful films were drawn, including the unforgettable "The Chocolate Factory" by Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp among the performers.
Naturally Riccardo Illy does not aspire to put his name on the tale, on the contrary he will certainly want to keep its evocative aura. But in the meantime the company behind it has become Italian and falls within the scope of an ever greater diversification of a business that from coffee beans increasingly focuses on cocoa beans, as well as tea and wine. In the interview with Ft Illy, who has long been planning to bring his group to the listing on the stock exchange, admitted that he had been courting Prestat for at least two years. The value of the take-over was not disclosed, but the British financial newspaper notes that last year Domori had 18 million euros in turnover, half of which came from chocolate, while Prestat 7 million pounds. The former closed the last fiscal year in profit, after returning to breakeven in the previous year, while Prestat is expected to return to profit in the near future, after an initiative gone badly in the field of coffee shops, very dense with competitors in Great Britain.
The former owner of the "Charlie's Chocolate Factory", Bill Keeling, comes from journalism among other things: He learned about the cocoa business in West Africa, where he was sent as a correspondent for an English newspaper. It appears that he will keep the post even after the takeover. Just as the historic Prestat shop in Piccadilly will remain unchanged, the usual destination for many tourists and local chocolate enthusiasts. Demand for confectionery and food in general is on the rise, noted experts in the field in London. But it was also the decline of the pound that attracted the company from Trieste, consequence of Brexit: he gave the final push for the purchase, as Illy himself admitted.
