PizzaExpress contemplates rival TRG bid

Following the recent news that Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) is set to be sold to Rock BidCo Limited, Italian restaurant chain PizzaExpress is thinking about submitting a rival bid to acquire the business. 

The board of TRG has confirmed it received a request from Wheel Topco Limited, operator of PizzaExpress, to evaluate a potential offer for the company within the last week.

Allan Leighton, chairman of PizzaExpress, previously chaired Wagamama and oversaw TRG's acquisition of the brand in 2018. 

TRG recently agreed to a deal with Rock BidCo – a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management – for over £700m. Under the terms of the agreement, TRG shareholders would be set to receive 65p in cash per share, representing a 34% premium on the group's closing share price of 49p on 11 October, which analysts felt may have prevented the potential for the group to receive rival bids. 

In a statement, the TRG board, chaired by Ken Hanna, warned that there is no guarantee PizzaExpress will proceed with a formal offer, saying: "No written or verbal indicative proposal relating to a possible offer, including as to terms, price or form of consideration, has been made to the board of TRG by Wheel Topco."

While Wheel Topco has entered the TRG acquisition race, PizzaExpress has been overseen by a group of debt funds since 2020, including Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners. 

TRG currently runs more than 400 sites across the UK, including the Brunning & Price pub estate. 

In September, TRG announced a proposed disposal of its leisure business, comprising 75 trading sites and associated restaurant and management team employees to the Big Table Group (BTG). The disposal is expected to complete on 30 October, with TRG paying a cash contribution of £7.5m to BTG, subject to certain cash, debt and working capital adjustments. 

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