Ask Italian to open flagship Manchester site

Ask Italian is set to open a new flagship restaurant in Manchester.

The new site, at One Piccadilly Gardens, is set to open in spring 2015.

Ask Italian's new managing director, Jason Thomas, said: "We've found a great site in a great city, and are looking forward to bringing the Ask Italian recipe of authentic dishes, warm service and fresh design to Manchester."

The business, owned by Gondola Holdings, has 110 restaurants throughout the country.

Both Ask Italian and Zizzi are thought to be up for sale for up to £200m, as private equity firm Cinven slowly breaks up Gondola, which it has owned since 2006.

Gondola sold PizzaExpress to Hony Capital for £900m earlier this year, while it sold Byron to Hutton Collins for £100m in June 2013.