SCOTLAND'S largest Domino's Pizza franchise is planning further growth in Germany after successfully opening its first European site.
Dominoid, which employs 340 people in 13 premises in Scotland, including nine in Edinburgh, recently moved its banking from Royal Bank of Scotland to HSBC.
The new lender provided £600,000 of funding to help with expansion plans in Scotland which involved adding an operation in Dunfermline. Now HSBC has also made introductions to financiers in Germany.
Dominoid opened in Aachen this year and will soon launch in Cologne. A further outlet in each city is planned before the end of the year with the business hoping to have eight franchises in Germany by 2014.
Dominoid is owned by Sean Geddes, who started with Domino's as a franchisee in 2001. He said: "When Domino's UK got the franchise for Germany I think my letter of application was first in the tray.
"Cologne and Aachen is similar to the Glasgow Edinburgh dynamic in Scotland with two big cities around 40 miles apart.
"The model in Germany will follow what we do in Scotland by running sites in densely populated areas."
Mr Geddes also owns Britain's only mobile Domino's store, which tours music and sports festivals plus Scottish towns not large enough to support a store.
He said growth in Scotland is possible and added: "Much of our expansion so far has been funded from our own cash but we took some backing from HSBC. We plan to consolidate this year but we may look at acquiring another franchise."
Mark Tate, head of commercial banking for HSBC in Scotland, said: "From our initial meeting with Sean we were struck by his strong leadership, innovative thinking, and his ability to successfully embrace business growth opportunities both at home and abroad.
"We're confident that our international capabilities and global presence will help Dominoid to maximise its potential as it continues to build its profile in Europe."
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