Quadrivio acquires Alice Pizza alongside Franco Manca backer

Quadrivio’s Lifestyle Fund II has acquired Italian fast-casual restaurant chain Alice Pizza in partnership with foodservice-focused investor Capdesia Group and a consortium of co-investors. 

The deal sees Lifestyle Fund II and Capdesia act as co-lead sponsors, alongside other investors including Pergolesi, an investment vehicle owned by CVC Funds that controls Italian foodservice chain La Piadineria. Capdesia Group is the PE backer behind Gail’s Bakery, Franco Manca and Wasabi. 

Alice Pizza was previously owned by Green Arrow Capital, whose iDeA Taste of Italy Fund indirectly held about 70% of the business, and founders Luna, Lorenzo and Domenico Giovannini, who together owned the remaining 30%.

Real Deals understands the EV of the business is in the €100-250m range. As part of the transaction, Green Arrow Capital and the founders are exiting. The deal took approximately nine months to execute, with exclusively to the parties granted in January 2026, which then invited Quadrivio to the transaction. 

The company generated more than €115m of system-wide sales in 2025, including franchise revenues, and reported consolidated Ebitda of €12.6m, representing a 20% margin on net company revenues. 

Founded in Rome in 1989, Alice Pizza operates 231 locations, including 220 in Italy and 11 international sites across Hong Kong, France, Spain, Malta and the US. Approximately half of the estate is company-operated, with the remainder franchised. 

Alice Pizza is known for its Roman-style pizza-by-the-slice concept and has built a scalable operating model combining standardised production, strong brand recognition and affordable pricing. The company also operates Accademia di Alice, a training school established in 2013 for aspiring pizza makers. 

Lifestyle Fund II and Capdesia said they plan to support the company’s expansion in Italy and accelerate international development across Europe, Asia and potentially the US. The investors also indicated that future commercial collaborations with La Piadineria could be explored.

The acquisition is the seventh investment for Lifestyle Fund II. The fund’s existing portfolio includes Italian restaurant chain Osteria Da Fortunata, French haircare brand Les Secrets de Loly, fashion brands Twinset and Sessùn, knitwear producer Filippo De Laurentiis and premium sneaker company Autry. 

The Quadrivio deal team was led by partner Alessio Candi and investment manager Flavio Ponticello. In an interview with Real Deals last year, Quadrivio Group CEO Alessandro Binello said the Lifestyle Fund II has “already raised more than half of its €400-500m target, with final close expected before summer 2026”. 

H Ashton Crosby, co-founder and managing director of Capdesia Group, commented: “On a global scale, the unique marriage of its high-quality product, fast operating model and affordable price point gives Alice the potential to disrupt the global legacy pizza players in the same way that Five Guys and Shake Shack disrupted burgers by replacing a commoditised, discount and delivery-led model with a better quality and more accessible format that aligns with modern consumer behaviour and multi-channel consumption habits.”

ADVISERS 

Quadrivio & Pambianco and Capdesia 

Legal: Chiomenti and Winston Taylor 
Corporate finance: Spayne Lindsay 

Green Arrow Capital 

Corporate finance: Houlihan Lokey 
Legal: PedersoliGattai 
Accounting due diligence: PwC 
Debt financing: BPER, IFIS, Sella and Unicredit