Royal baby: Birth of Prince George has Domino effect on pizza sales

Kate and William are said to have scoffed Zizzi pizzas after the birth of Prince George but the rest of the country gobbled Domino’s.

The delivery giant saw a 20 per cent leap in demand for pizzas led by the patriotic Pepperoni Passion last Monday, when the nation stared at the doors of the Lindo Wing and waited for the first news of baby Cambridge.

“We were delighted the Royal Family contributed to our sales,” said chief executive Lance Batchelor. “As Prince George made his appearance, we saw a 20 per cent sales jump versus the previous week, and a 12 per cent rise on the year before. A lot of people watched on TV and wanted someone else to cook for them.”

Even our barbecue summer couldn’t stymy demand for stuffed crusts: UK sales rose 6.4 per cent in the half year to July.

Overall sales rose 13.8 per cent to £326.5 million, but pre-tax profit fell to £11.6 million from £21.5 million in the same six months of 2012, as Domino’s rolls out expansion in Germany. The chain opened 22 new stores in the six months, but closed two, taking its total estate in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland to 825 stores.