London Business School entrepreneur sets crowdfunding record

A London Business School alumnus has set a new record for the largest amount of crowdfunded equity raised for a UK start-up.

Corrado Accardi will use the £440,000 provided by over 120 Crowdcube investors to open a production centre and two pizzerias for his new enterprise Pizza Rossa.

Discussing the funding round’s success, Corrado said: “Our success with this round of funding has brought in seed cash that is essential to deliver our business model. Through crowdfunding we obtained superb visibility with landlords, large B2B customers and potential franchisees. We are now looking for a production facility and a site for our first shop in the City of London opening in Spring 2014.”

Corrado’s goal is to make Pizza Rossa synonymous with the best pizzas in Britain. And he is well on his way. He has raised over 50% more than the original crowdfunding target in just 19 days. Corrado is currently a participant in the School's 2013-2014 Incubator programme.

Pizza Rossa was the winner of this year's London Business School Business Plan Competition and came second in the European Business Plan of the Year final, where Corrado competed against other entrepreneurs from European business schools. Pizza Rossa was established by Corrado as Founder and Managing Director, Luca Magnani and Dan Einzig with guidance and backing from Non-Executive Director Robin Walker.

The initial plans are to employ 10 members of staff in the next few months and run at least 12 outlets within five years, with the first opening in the spring. Corrado intends to combine contemporary design with Italian authenticity and passion to produce "outstanding" pizzas as the "perfect meal on-the-go".