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Pizza Hut’s UK operator is reportedly in “advanced talks” with potential bidders to wrap up a deal to secure its future, Sky News has learnt.
According to Sky, Heart With Smart (HWS), Pizza Hut’s biggest UK franchisee which operates roughly 140 Pizza Hut dine-in restaurants, is expecting to select a preferred bidder in January.
HWS is working with Interpath Advisory on the process and sources close to the process have revealed that a range of trade and financial buyers had expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in the restaurant-chain.
Insiders also told Sky News last month the increases in the national living wage and employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) is expected to raise HWS’s annual expenses by roughly £4m, accounting for more than half of the company’s EBITDA from the previous year.
The news comes after HWS instructed advisers to find a buyer or raise tens of millions of pounds in external funding in November.
HWS is owned by a combination of Pricoa and the company’s management, led by chief executive Jens Hofma.
They led a management buyout reportedly worth £100m in 2018, with the business having previously been owned by Rutland Partners, a private equity firm.
