Pizza Hut managers snap up restaurant chain in £100m deal

PIZZA Hut’s UK bosses have taken control of the restaurant brand in a deal estimated to be worth £100m.

Rutland Partners, which bought the UK franchise from US owners Yum Brands in 2012 for £60m, has sold the business to its chief executive Jens Hofma, with the private equity group exiting the under-pressure casual dining sector altogether.

Mr Hofma has funded the deal with the help of Pricoa Capital Group and pledged to keep growing the company despite tough conditions across the sector. A perfect storm of cost pressures from rising business rates and wages has combined with an oversupply of restaurants and more cautious consumer spending.

The sale comes at a time when Rutland Partners itself is under some pressure due to its failure to find a buyer for Maplin, the electronics chain it owns that went into administration earlier this year. Mr Hofma, who has run the business since Rutland’s involvement, will aim to grow the 260-strong estate.

The latest available accounts for the company show revenue rose to £232m in the year to Dec 4 2016, up from £225m the year before. A rise in operating costs and a one-off charge to pay consultants meant that pre-tax profits dropped a third to £5.2m.