The business and assets of Heart With Smart, one of the UK’s leading hospitality franchise operators which manages the operations of the UK Pizza Hut dine-in restaurants, has today been acquired by Directional Capital in a pre-pack transaction which sees the transfer and continuing operation of 139 restaurants across the UK.
Directional Capital is a US-based private equity firm which, amongst its portfolio, owns the company which operates Pizza Hut restaurants across Sweden and Denmark.
Earlier today (16 January 2025) Will Wright and Chris Pole from Interpath were appointed joint administrators of Heart With Smart Restaurants Limited. Immediately thereafter, they sold the business and assets of the Company to DC London Pie Ltd, a company owned by Directional Capital.
As well as the transfer of 139 Pizza Hut restaurants, the transaction also safeguards the jobs of over 3000 employees who have transferred to DC London Pie Ltd.
Jens Hofma, CEO of Heart with Smart, said: “Over the past six years, we have made great progress in building our business and strengthening our operations to become one of the UK’s leading hospitality franchise operators, all whilst navigating a challenging economic backdrop. With the acquisition by Directional Capital announced today, the future of the business has been secured with a strong platform in place.”
Will Wright, UK CEO of Interpath, said: “Pizza Hut is one of the world’s most iconic hospitality brands with a loyal customer base, and so we’re pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which will see restaurants continue to operate in towns and cities far and wide across the UK.”
Dwayne Boothe from Directional Capital, said: “This transaction marks an important milestone for Directional Capital as we continue to build the Directional Pizza platform into a premier food & beverage operator throughout the UK and Europe. Directional Pizza continues to invest in improving food and beverage across its growing 240 plus locations in Europe and the UK."
Interpath were advised by legal advisors Fried Frank, and agents, John Pye & Sons Limited and Watling Real Estate.
