BIG business is making a mark on South Woodford as multi-million pound restaurant chain Prezzo plc opens a second eatery around the corner from another.

The burgeoning chain of eateries, which turns over around £40m a year, has an established Prezzo restaurant at Queen Mary's Gate, South Woodford, and hundreds of Prezzo's across the country as well as iMMo cafes, Chimichanga's and The Ultimate Burger restaurants.

Now Prezzo plc is applying for a licence to open iMMo on the former site of the Yellow Book Californian cafe in George Lane, South Woodford.

If iMMo's licence application is passed next month, the food and wine establishment will open from noon until midnight, seven days a week, serving alcohol throughout the day until 11.30pm.

However, the chairman of the South Woodford Business Forum Kerk Davies believes the invasion of big businesses is not necessarily negative.

"There has to be a balance," he said, "People are attracted into the area by the big names, so if there is an intermingling of large corporations with small businesses it can be quite good, so I welcome them with caution.

"I think George Lane can stand a few corporate names and it is up to independent businesses to get in there and do what they can to compete.

"Restaurants and food places do tend to be quite successful there and we need to have an intermingling. I'm not against it in principal, as long as they help provide an incentive for local people to stay local and shop locally."

Prezzo plc declined to comment on the venture.