Pizza Hut to Be Sold in £2bn Deal
Major pizza chain Pizza Hut is set to be sold in a £2bn deal just months after 68 UK branches were shut. The brand, which began operating in 1958, has nearly 20,000 branches worldwide. The sale, announced on Tuesday, will see parent company Yum! Brands sell the chain, excluding Chinese operations, to private equity firm LongRange Capital for £1.1 billion. The transaction covers the group's UK operations, which Yum took over last year after rescuing the business from administration following the collapse of its former operator, DC London Pie. Simultaneously, Yum announced plans to divest its Pizza Hut China arm to Yum China in a deal valued at £890 million.
Background and History
Pizza Hut began in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, as a small pizza restaurant that later grew into a global brand. For many years, it was owned by PepsiCo, which used its resources and distribution network to expand the business internationally. In 1997, PepsiCo separated its restaurant division into a new independent company called Yum! Brands, allowing Pizza Hut to operate alongside other fast-food chains with a stronger focus on growth and the restaurant industry.
Chris Turner, chief executive of Yum! Brands, said: “Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry. Pizza Hut is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world, and we are proud of the important role it has played in Yum’s history.”
UK Operations and Closures
The chain has around 20,000 stores in more than 100 countries, but the company gets nearly half its sales from the US, where it has about 6,500 stores. In October last year, Yum bought Pizza Hut's UK operations after DC London Pie, the firm running Pizza Hut's UK dine-in restaurants, fell into administration. The UK chain closed 68 restaurants and 11 delivery outlets, putting around 1,210 jobs at risk. However, approximately 64 of those restaurants were preserved after Yum stepped in with a rescue deal.
