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A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while diversifying the franchise into poultry items has been ousted after tensions with its board.

Executive Transition

Andrew Rennie is exiting after only 24 months in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for more than two decades, had attempted to shift the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating recently there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed chicken was the quickest rising food category in the world.

Governance Tensions

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his approach and direction, although the company's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

Recent Brand Launch

In September, the chain launched its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie called a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as intended, it views fried chicken as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the Domino's chairman, commented: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in our primary operations. We are prioritizing selecting the suitable leader to lead the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said transactions dipped by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In the summer, it warned that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the budget and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Competitors are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain disclosed the closure of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced light items, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the betting firm a well-known operator. It is understood that she does not want to take on the CEO position long-term.

She said: “The company has a number of active expansion and operational projects that we will be concentrating on implementing at speed.”

She said these included additional efforts on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also in need of a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andrea joins from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow is temporary CFO.