Pizza Express Sale Talks
Pizza Express explores a £500 million sale amid broader London restaurant expansions.
Anonymous
Pizza Express is reportedly exploring a sale that could value the chain at up to £500 million, while London’s restaurant scene is also set for new openings, including a Market Place Food Hall at Victoria Station and a larger Heard flagship in Covent Garden. Separately, a Lubbock restaurant received 17 health violations after inspectors cited unsafe brisket storage, dirty equipment and other food-safety problems; seven other local businesses earned top scores.
Key Points
1
Pizza Express’s owners are working with Rothschild after receiving approaches from industry bidders and investment firms. The chain reported flat 2025 sales of £440 million, while EBITDA rose 6.3% to £53 million; it has also agreed to bring US fried-chicken brand Houston Hot Chicken to the UK.
2
Market Place Food Hall’s Victoria site is set to seat 180 and include a central bar serving cocktails and craft beer, alongside screens showing live sports and train departures. Its 10 traders include Argentinian Grill, Jollof Mama and Thai House.
3
Paris-founded brasserie group La Nouvelle Garde is planning a second London restaurant at The M Building on Oxford Street, following the July opening of Brasserie Olivia on Sloane Square. A premises licence application and recruitment advert point to a possible spring 2027 opening.
4
At the Lubbock restaurant cited for 17 health violations, the person in charge reportedly knew the reach-in cooler was not working and said a work order had been placed. Inspectors also noted that most available food-handler certificates were expired or belonged to people no longer employed, and said food-safety knowledge was not demonstrated.
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