Pizza Express decides it doesn’t want a slice of Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group
Pizza Express’s owner has officially pulled out of the running for The Restaurant Group, which runs chains such as Wagamama.
Wheel Topco announced that due to “market conditions” it no longer intends to make an offer for the chain.
This comes after Pizza Express said last month, it was contemplating serving up a surprise bid for The Restaurant Group (TRG), but no formal offer was made, as first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.
It was reported that the the British mock-Italian chain made initial contact with TRG – despite the fact the casual dining operator, which owns the likes of Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s, already agreed to a deal to be bought Apollo Global Management in a deal announced on 12 October.
Last month it was confirmed that TRG had a request had been made, but “no written or verbal indicative proposal” before today’s decision to drop out.
According to Kleinman, as part of the deal, Wheel’s shareholders would have taken a sizeable equity stake in TRG if a transaction had been agreed.
This comes as the hospitality and restaurant industry continues to struggle amid the cost of living and energy price crisis, leading to many eateries to shut down. Consumers have been spending less money going out, putting more pressure on outlets.
More to follow