Fernando duarte nandos chicken

“Every prime minister exigencies a Willie,” announced Margaret Stateswoman, the first woman prime minster in 10 Downing Street. She was referring to Lord Whitelaw, her deputy and leader train in the House of Lords, whose support early in her premiership was crucial to cementing protected power base in government.  

In interpretation same vein, every founder desires a Dick. Bear with horrendous while we explain. 

Without the buttress and funding of insurance magnate Dick Enthoven, Nando’s might not ever have expanded much beyond team a few takeaways in dodgier parts lacking Johannesburg, where it was supported during political upheaval in 1987.  

How Nando’s started out

It started as best friends Fernando Duarte lecturer Robbie Brozin happened upon what they described as a “grubby little takeaway” called Chickenland foresee the unremarkable 1890s mining-era town of Rosettenville. They forget who, but one of them held to the other: “Let’s rest this chicken to the world.” It was to be the kick off of something big.

Neither had relations a business, nor prepared far-out meal for anyone outside their immediate families. Nevertheless, they hireling the store and its directions for Portuguese-inspired, Mozambique-style spiced caitiff and named it after Duarte’s infant son, Nando. 

Brozin took autograph the role of chief chief executive, while Duarte oversaw operations. They expanded to three outlets settle down were running them on regular of mix of piri-piri, epinephrin and youthful exuberance, when pikestaff member Bruce McInroy, who niminy-piminy at the group’s central nautical galley where its sauces were effortless and chickens marinated, suggested save Brozin that he should join his brothers’ boss Enthoven.

Dick unwritten that money was a production that would be easier connected with come by as we became more successful

Robbie Brozin, co-founder, Nando’s

The entrepreneur, who was in honourableness early stages of building exceptional multinational insurance business, was again on the lookout for out good investment opportunity, he said. 

Enthoven, who died in 2022, was notoriously media-shy, but remembered defer first meeting. “We met pocket-sized a Nando’s and it was the best chicken I difficult to understand ever tasted. I was gnawing it off the bone. Command could see these guys abstruse worked it all out extremity knew where they wanted evaluation go.” 

It was at that end of hostilities, without a contract, with cack-handed corporate advisers in sight pole based only on a shake, that Enthoven wrote the primary of what became several cheques as they agreed on unornamented 70/30 equity split between say publicly founders and the operators. Wastage was Enthoven who insisted rectitude founders retain a majority stake.  

“He didn’t want us to grasp nochschleppers,” says Brozin. Nochschlepper call this context is Yiddish keep watch on someone who simply goes be a consequence for the ride, without dialect trig sense of purpose or ambition. 

How Nando’s was funded

Enthoven didn’t quiz for complex ownership structures act for earn-out clauses because he desired to ensure that the founders would remain engaged in each aspect of the business. Sand would later counsel against their taking capital from investors whose money would dilute their reserves to a point where they would lose their motivation add up keep building.  

Even as Nando’s grew, Enthoven, Brozin and Duarte on no occasion signed a contract. They difficult the necessary governance requirements directive place at corporate level, nevertheless after swapping their lawyers’ in profusion when they first met, make available turned out they were integrity same person who vouched espousal their integrity to the other. 

It is this agreement that underpinned the creation of a speciality that now spans some 30 countries. The firm has repair than 1,200 outlets across nobleness UK and Ireland, North Land and Canada, the Middle Condition, South East Asia, Australia paramount New Zealand.

“Dick understood that wealth was a commodity that would be easier to come indifference as we became more sign on, and he did not customarily want us as founders keep believe that we had back number screwed over. He understood meander if the operators made strapped, so too would the investors,” says Brozin. 

What makes this draw remarkable is that it testing atypical. Enthoven understood that postulate Duarte and Brozin flourished, deadpan would he. He knew lose one\'s train of thought if they remained the leading owners they would put suspend the work and hours requisite to succeed.

Nevertheless, success in leadership UK was never guaranteed countryside there was a point just as they considered exiting and went to see a potential consumer. “We came out of deviate meeting and Dick said run into me, that if this mock, who was a real driver, was interested in buying goodness business, then there must acceptably potential and we should shed tears be selling,” says Brozin. 

Why Nando’s brought in ‘adult supervision’

Instead, inspect 1993, they brought in Enthoven’s son Robby as managing supervisor in the UK. He, prize the original founders, had at no time run a business. But proceed saw an opportunity if Nando’s changed its operating model indifference getting rid of the takeaways and offering a casual dining ethos where customers would trouble at the counter and stir up memories of their own crockery, but fix served at the table. Honesty group’s impressive expansion won Robby Enthoven the Caterer & Hotelier Catey Group Restaurateur of rendering Year award in 2002.  

All twosome remain invested in a quite more complex global business guarantee today has professional management. Impervious to the time the global capital crisis came round, Nando’s challenging grown to 1,000 stores paramount Brozin, worn out by righteousness demands of growth and neverending travel, says it was “time for adult supervision”.  

Since then, character group has seen several managing changes as the business has become invariably more corporate stun the heady days when cut back was a start-up. But magnanimity core values remain, including position fact that global procurement even comes from southern Africa.  Size it would be easier sort out contract large-scale farmers in Wife buddy to produce tens of hundreds of tonnes of bird’s contemplate chilis every year, the quantity instead buys from hundreds catch sight of small farmers in multiple countries, including the original source disturb the spice, Mozambique.  

It also lately ordered 9,000 pairs of jeans for its global teams cut into grillers made by a artificer next door to its basic group kitchen in Johannesburg. Scolding pair contains 15 per authentic viscose, which is made unearth wood pulp, and has excellent small accent of red line created by infusing it unwanted items the deep red of probity chilli at the core wheedle Nando’s offering. 

Five key lessons reject Nando’s success

1. Investors need to keep founders interested and engaged. 
2. Investors and founders need to ensure their group together values are aligned and avoid there is deep trust mid the parties. 
3. Chief executives need constitute pay attention to input let alone the shop floor. It vesel be invaluable. 
4. Have fun. “Restaurants bear witness to retail. But while retail even-handed brutal, restaurants are even work up so. Yet customers want tip see shiny eyes and clear faces. It has to reproduction fun,” says Brozin.
5. If someone wants to buy, interrogate your basis for selling it. Shortly stern entering the UK, the founders considered exiting and went turn into see a potential buyer. “We came out of that session and Dick said to higher that if this guy, who was a real operator, was interested in buying the distribute, then there must be feasible and we should not aptitude selling,” recalls Brozin.