FOUNDERS of a collapsing pizza business have returned to save 110 jobs - and are promising to cook up a scorching hot future into the bargain.

Employees at Express Products in Lymington feared the worst when parent company Napier Brown put it into administration in November after spiralling overheads made it financially unviable.

But Steve Jose and Lorraine Cartwright, who founded the company in New Milton 16 years ago before selling it in 1997, have come to the rescue, leading a £500,000 management buy-out deal.

They believe that turnover could reach a mouth-watering £20m over the next three years, propelled by a pioneering new microwave pizza and a high-profile deal with champion jockey Frankie Dettori.

The Gordleton industrial estate factory currently produces around 14 million chilled and frozen pizzas each year, sold in 30 different varieties to supermarket chains such as Sainsbury's and Safeway.

Despite that success, Napier Brown was not making money. When the business went into administration, Mr Jose and his colleagues saw it as a golden chance to reclaim a "pizza the action".

He told the Daily Echo: "Basically, Napier Brown's overheads were so high, they would have needed to mine gold or something to make it pay.

"But that problem will not apply to us - and we can also reap the benefits of the expansion which has trebled the size of the building in recent years, as well as the technology which has been introduced.

"This has been purpose-built, and is just about the most state-of-the-art pizza manufacturer in the UK."

It has also pulled off a major coup by signing a deal with "housewives' choice" Dettori to produce his debut venture into the food market.

"He has given us a lot of guidance for flavours and so on, and is very keen to make it work," added Mr Jose.

"And we also have a new microwave pizza coming out soon which will revolutionise the market. You would never know it had not been cooked in an oven."