Yum! Brands to offload Pizza Hut for £2b

Yum! Brands has agreed to sell Pizza Hut in two separate transactions amounting to $2.7b (£2b) after struggling with “business challenges” in recent years.

Pizza Hut operations outside of mainland China will be acquired by private equity firm LongRange Capital for roughly $1.5b (£1.1b), while Pizza Hut China will be sold to Yum China, which operates the KFC and Taco Bell chains there, for approximately $1.2b (£895m).

The announcement comes after Pizza Hut embarked on a comprehensive review of its strategic options in November 2025 following a fall in sales across US and Europe.

The group reported that Pizza Hut’s global system sales had dropped 1% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, compared to a 6% rise for KFC and a 9% increase for Taco Bell over the same period.

At the time, Yum! chief executive Chris Turner said: “The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realise its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands.”

Following today’s announcement, Turner expressed confidence the transactions would enable Yum! to become a more “focused company”.

He added: “Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry. Pizza Hut is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world, and we are proud of the important role it has played in Yum!’s history. Pizza Hut was built by the passion and dedication of our team members, employees and franchisees, and we’re excited for the next chapter.” 

Both transactions have secured unanimous approval from Yum!’s board of directors.

Yum! said it expected both deals to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 and today operates more than 19,000 restaurants across 108 countries.

The chain opened its first UK restaurant in the early 1970s and expanded to hundreds of sites at its peak, but recent closures have raised questions over its future on the high street.

In October 2025, Yum! Europe saved 64 of Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants from administration. However, 68 restaurants and 11 delivery outlets closed with more than 1,000 job losses when franchisee DC London Pie collapsed into administration.

Yum! was founded in 1997 and is widely regarded as the world’s largest restaurant company. Today, Yum! and its subsidiaries franchise and operate more than 63,000 restaurants in 155 countries and territories under brands such as KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill.