Caprinos Pizza has opened its 130th site, according to a Propel report on 4 November 2026, as its founders launch a third store for their hot chicken brand, Zinglet. The halal pizza chain, founded in 2015, has grown through franchising and recruits franchise partners through its own website, a route covered in our guide to opening a pizzeria in the UK.
Caprinos Pizza was started in 2015 by Khalil Rehman and Gul Nawaz. Earlier this year, QSR Media reported that the chain had grown like-for-like sales by 14% in 2025, opened 17 new UK stores during that year and launched in Ireland, with a first site in Dublin early in the year and a second Irish opening in December.
It also reported plans for 20 new UK stores in 2026 and a target of 200 UK outlets by 2030, alongside markets in Europe and the Middle East. Propel’s report does not say where the 130th site is, or whether the count covers the UK alone.
Two counts of the estate this year
Published counts of the Caprinos estate do not line up exactly. QSR Media’s report early in 2026 put the chain at more than 120 stores across the UK, with further sites in Ireland and Pakistan. In May, Hospitality and Catering News described more than 120 sites worldwide, of which more than 110 were in the UK. The 130th opening reported this week would sit above both counts. Caprinos has not published a current list or total on its franchising page or its home page.
How Caprinos recruits franchisees
Caprinos describes itself on its franchising page as a young UK pizza chain, and says it is one of very few pizza brands to offer a halal menu across all its branches. The page carries an enquiry form rather than a fee table. Applicants choose from three bands of available capital: £100,000 to £130,000, £130,000 to £150,000, and £150,000 or more. The page does not publish an initial franchise fee, a management service fee or a total investment figure.
What the capital bands are
The three bands are options in an enquiry form, not a published cost. The lowest option starts at £100,000 of available capital. Franchising in the UK is governed by general contract law, and there is no statutory pre-contract disclosure document, so figures beyond these bands come from the franchisor directly.
Zinglet reaches a third store
The founders launched Zinglet, a halal hot chicken brand, in May 2026. Its first site, announced that month, is a 40-seat restaurant at 36 Conway Street in Birkenhead, a town where a Caprinos had launched the previous November. The founders said that pizza site had met strong local demand.
A second Zinglet store in Macclesfield was planned to follow within a month. Its menu centres on hand-breaded, made-to-order chicken, including hot chicken, wings and buttermilk fried chicken, with sides such as loaded fries and milkshakes.
The founders said their aim was to scale the brand into the UK’s leading hot chicken chain. “Zinglet has been a labour of love for several months,” the founders said at the time. Propel’s headline confirms a third Zinglet store but does not name its location.
