British businesses have in recent years enjoyed a boom in interest from international investors, with many having been taken over by multinationals based in the Middle East and Far East due to their market penetration in growing economies. Now Pizza Express bosses have confirmed that the restaurant chain is being bought out by Eastern investors, having agreed a £900 million deal with China’s Hony Capital.
Hony Capital managed to beat competitors such as rival Chinese investment group Citic to take over the Pizza Express name in what has been called the biggest European restaurant sector deal of the last five years. Four other private equity firms, who have not yet been named, also expressed a “high level of interest” in acquiring the brand.
The timing of this deal could prove to be highly fortuitous for both Pizza Express and Hony Capital, as the Italian food chain opened its first Beijing restaurant only two months ago. With Hony Capital’s involvement the Far East property portfolio, which also includes 12 restaurants in Hong Kong and nine in Shanghai, will be able to expand still further thanks to the firm’s knowledge of local market trends.
Pizza Express chief executive Richard Hodgson, along with the other members of the management team, will remain in their positions for the foreseeable future.
He said; “Asia is a key part of our future growth strategy and Hony’s expertise in this region will be invaluable.
“We are looking forward to working with them on this as well as our ambitious UK growth plans.”
These growth plans involve opening a further 200 UK restaurants in the next few years, adding significantly to the chain’s 504 outlet portfolio.
Although previous owner Gondala Group, owned by Cinven, invested heavily into expansion, the financial crisis limited its ability to grow steadily – certainly failing to match the growth rate set by former owner Luke Johnson between 1993 and 1999, when the number of restaurants operated climbed from 12 to more than 250.
Chief executive of Hony Capital, John Zhao, believes that his firm will be able to speed up the growth rate of Pizza Express in China and elsewhere in the Far Eastern market.
He says; “With Pizza Express, we have the opportunity to leverage our local expertise to accelerate its growth in the Chinese market, as well as to continue to drive its business forward in the UK.”
The chain has come a long way since first opening in Soho, central London in the 1960s. From a single restaurant, the brand has built both domestically and overseas, with the result that it now employs more than 9,000 people worldwide.
Going forward, it is thought that the Gondala Group will now examine the possibilities of offloading other brands in its network including Zizzi and ASK Italian.
