ANTHUAN XAVIER, the founder of one of the country’s most successful accountancy firms, is heading a consortium that has just bought the Four Star Pizza franchise in Ireland, writes Brian Carey.

The accountant is the lead investor in Zowington, a company that is believed to have paid more than €5m for the Irish rights to the Four Star Pizza trademark. The franchise was purchased from Anne O’Leary, the Wicklow businesswoman.

Zowington has also agreed to purchase the rights to the international trademark for Britain and is drawing up plans to bring the franchise to that market.

It is understood that the new owners plan to double the size of the chain over the next five years. There are 32 Four Star Pizza outlets in Ireland, most of them in the republic.

Xavier will become non- executive chairman of Zowington. The identity of his partners in the venture has not been revealed.

Malaysian by birth, Xavier moved to Ireland when he was 19 and worked with Stokes Kennedy Crowley, now KPMG, before setting up his own practice with David Simpson in 1982.

BDO Simpson Xavier is now the largest indigenous accountancy firm, with income last year of more than €55m. Xavier, 53, stepped down as managing partner last year but remains chairman.

He also has set up a property investment firm that has made purchases in Berlin and London’s Oxford Street.

The deal represents a nice cash out for O’Leary, who brought the franchise to Ireland in 1988. A former Bewley’s operations manager, she persuaded four managers at Campbell Catering, the cafe company’s parent, to put up the money to buy the trademark rights.

O’Leary, a sister of the hotelier Lorraine Sweeney, had just a 2.5% stake in the business, but she gradually bought out her partners. However, O’Leary admitted that a previous plan to expand into Britain had failed as the company “did not know the market well”.