The group, whose owners include Bain Capital’s special situations unit and Cyrus Capital Partners, is working with bankers at Rothschild after receiving approaches from both industry bidders and investment firms, according to the Financial Times.
The deal could be worth up to £500m, the paper reports.
Pizza Express recently signed a deal to enter the burgeoning fried chicken market by bringing US brand, Houston Hot Chicken, into its stable. The first UK site for the brand will open in Stevenage this autumn, followed by a second at the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, near Russell Square, this winter.
The business posted flat sales of £440m in 2025 with Ebitda rising 6.3% to £53m. It reported sales of £112m in the first quarter of 2026, a 3.7% increase from the same period a year earlier.