Metcalfe, who also set up sandwich chain Pret A Manger, has hired Oystercatchers to run the pitch process. He wants an agency to help get across the message that Itsu is no longer just a sushi place but rather an Asian-inspired, "healthy fast food" shop.
Creative agencies have already been contacted by Oystercatchers for the pitch, although a spokesman for the intermediary would not say how many. Metcalfe, who is said to often handle much of his companies’ marketing himself, wants to have the pitch process completed and an agency in place by May.
Itsu was founded in 1997.It is predicting revenues of £55m by the end of 2013 but has not yet decided how much it will spend on its advertising and marketing campaign, saying that will be announced after the pitch.
Pret A Manger, another Metcalfe business, appointed WCRS as its creative agency when it went on a £3m branding drive in 2002.
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