Fast food chain Eagle Boys Pizza (EBP) is in a dire financial position thanks to a paltry marketing budget and the abandonment of a “two-minute pizza promise”, the chain’s founder believes.

EBP founder Tom Potter’s comments came after Roy Morgan research found two more reasons why the chain had fallen behind competitors: it was being outdone with “gourmet” pizzas and high-tech ordering systems.

Last week it emerged EBP had voluntarily appointed administrators to explore restructuring options or possibly selling the business. The chain would continue operating while outside investors decided whether to save the chain, which owed $30 million to creditors, News Corp reported.

Mr Potter – who sold EBP to Queensland-based private equity firm NBC Capital in 2007 – told The New Daily the new owners “dropped the ball on multiple things”.

“The actual [advertising] spend for what they were putting into the market place disintegrated slowly and substantially over the past six years,” he said.

“The concept of spending less of advertising and marketing gives you a gloomy outcome.”

He said NBC Capital abandoned the “two minute” pizza cook guarantee which was offered everyday between 5pm and 8pm.

“By removing that they pretty much made the drive throughs redundant,” Mr Potter said.

“It is pretty much like telling people ‘go to McDonald’s but don’t use the drive through because it will take 10 minutes for your food’.”

The New Daily has contacted EBP for comment.

Mr Potter started EBP 29 years ago in Albury, New South Wales. It has 160 stores throughout Australia and has always been strong in regional areas. The chain peaked in 2012 with 340 national stores but fell dramatically between late 2013 and late 2014.

Slow on tech, poor on ‘fancy pizza’

Roy Morgan’s research into EBP’s demise tried to identify why the chain’s customer numbers plummeted over the past five years.

EBP’s customer number fall came as Domino’s customer numbers soared, while “gourmet” pizza chains Crust and Pizza Capers joined the market.

“Eagle Boys has been slow on the technological uptake, yet doesn’t stand out with its menu either,” she said.

The lack of menu variety became more of a hinderance to EBP as Crust and Pizza Caper entered the market.

Both chains offer products targeted at customers’ “gourmet sensibilities”, Roy Morgan wrote. Meantime Domino’s had also launched its own more sophisticated menu.

EBP also battled to compete with Domino’s on price, the researchers found.

Domino’s dominance was so strong that even Pizza Hut’s customer attendance was heading downwards.

Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of giant American fast food company Yum! Brands Inc. It also owned global fast food stores KFC and Taco Bell.

In 2011 EBP was the second biggest pizza maker in Australia. 2014 media reports claimed that franchisees were dissatisfied with new owners NBC Capital, who had stopped print and media advertising.

Roy Morgan also found that customers who spent money at EBC were the most likely of any pizza consumers to shop at other fast food outlets.