Domino’s UK founder Colin Halpern to step down from company board

(Reuters) -Britain’s Domino’s Pizza Group said on Wednesday its non-executive vice-chairman, Colin Halpern, will step down from the board next year, nearly three decades after bringing Domino’s to the UK and Ireland.

The company, a franchise of U.S.-based Domino’s Pizza Inc, said Halpern will step down at the annual general meeting in 2022 as he seeks to focus on his business interests in the United States.

Halpern secured the Domino’s Pizza Master Franchise Agreement for the UK and Ireland in 1993 and took the company public in 1999 as chairman.

Domino’s UK has seen strong growth in the past year as pandemic restrictions led to a surge in demand for pizza deliveries, while the company also benefited from reopening of its outdoor dining as curbs gradually eased.

Shares in the London-listed company had gained 1.6% by 1121 GMT.

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain and Amna Karimi in Bengaluru;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)