Private equity firm Directional Capital in talks to acquire Pizza Hut UK restaurant arm

Pizza Hut’s biggest UK franchisee is reportedly in advanced discussions to sell around 140 sites to private equity firm Directional Capital.

Sky News has reported that the rescue deal would see Heart With Smart (HWS), the main franchise-holder, sold in a move expected to secure the future of the majority of the group’s 3,000 staff.

Only a small number of the chain’s existing outlets would be at risk of closure based on the deal which Sky said would most likely be implemented through a pre-pack administration of HWS.

Directional Capital is an investment firm which already controls the majority of Pizza Hut’s dine-in operations in Denmark and Sweden.

HWS was reported to have begun searching for buyers in November to mitigate the impact of tax hikes announced in the autumn budget.

In November, HWS joined 220 hospitality businesses in signing a letter to the Chancellor warning of job cuts and closures due to the impending increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

Insiders told Sky increased wage costs and NICs from April 2025 would add around £4m to HWS’s annual costs.

Cross-party MPs criticised government plans to hike employers’ NICs and warned it will be “catastrophic” for hospitality during a debate in parliament in December.

HWS, which employs over 3,000 people, licenses the Pizza Hut name from Yum! Brands, the US food giant behind KFC and Taco Bell.

Pizza Hut opened its first UK restaurant in the early 1970s and expanded to hundreds of sites.

The group’s UK bosses including chief executive Jens Hofma led a management buyout of the company in 2018 with the backing of Pricoa Capital Group.

It was previously owned by private equity firm Rutland Partners, which reportedly paid a token £1 to rescue the business in 2012.

Pizza Hut’s UK delivery business is separately run by individual franchisees and would be unaffected by any potential sale.