PizzaExpress’s unsecured creditors -- which include Beach Point Capital Management -- will have one month to review Hony’s offer to buy back the bonds at discount. Hony Capital, the China-based buyout fund with $7bn assets under management, will work together with the Pizza Express management team to accelerate its expansion in China and continue to grow the UK business. PizzaExpress celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. Hony Capital, the private equity group that bought PizzaExpress in 2014, has secured a controlling majority of its unsecured bonds, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. PizzaExpress is a restaurant group based in the United Kingdom and owned by a group of bondholders. It is currently majority owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital. Pizza Express opened its first restaurant in Beijing in May Credit: Photo: ALAMY Chinese investment group Hony Capital has agreed to buy restaurant chain Pizza Express for around £900m. China’s Hony Capital is set to pump more money into PizzaExpress, cutting the 54-year-old restaurant chain’s debts and increasing its chances of retaining control in any restructuring. Pizza Express, which is majority owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, said it had also placed the business up for sale. Latest News; ... Hony Capital burned by Pizza Express as bondholders agree deal for struggling restaurant chain. Its 2019 accounts revealed that, even before the novel coronavirus hit U.K. restaurants, it was already making an annual loss of £350 million. It has been helpful in expanding the Pizza Express brand in that important market, although the Far East operations first began in 2001 in Hong Kong. The only way out was for Hony to exit, and for Pizza Express to close a lot of restaurants and cut a debt-for-equity deal with shareholders on the risky promise that it would lead to a brighter future. In Hong Kong, Pizza Express has 23 restaurants. Pizza Express is only one of a string of headache investments for Hony, a $10bn private equity firm that also poured $500m into struggling co-working landlord WeWork in 2017. Hony picked up Pizza Express in a £900m buyout from fellow PE house Cinven six years ago, but the business had already seen its debt surge to a reported £1.1bn by the end of 2018. Pizza Express operates 436 restaurants in the UK along with 68 internationally, including 22 in China. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot. Beyond pizza, there are cookies – we use the non-edible kind on this site. The group is owned by Hony Capital, a Chinese company that bought Pizza Express in 2014 in a £900m deal with hopes of expanding the chain in China. Cinven borrowed money to buy Pizza Express, saddling the company with the debt. Pizza Express, which is majority owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, also confirmed it had hired advisers from Lazard to lead a sale process for the business. Each Pizza Express shop is individually designed depending on the local tastes of the area. An affiliate of Pizza Express’ owner Hony Capital is understood to have launched a tender offer to acquire up to £80m of the group’s senior notes, due in 2022. PizzaExpress Hony Capital M&As Gondola Group Cinven London: Chinese private equity group Hony Capital Ltd agreed to buy UK restaurant chain PizzaExpress Ltd for about £900 million ($1.54 billion). Expansion of the British restaurant chain into the Asia market is seen as key for its growth Sign in. The restructuring plan will enable Hony Capital to complete the carve-out purchase of the China business of PizzaExpress Group, which it will continue to own and operate going forward. Private equity house Hony Capital is at risk of losing its entire investment in UK pizza restaurant chain Pizza Express as the business reels under the strain of the coronavirus lockdown. Pizza Express also confirmed it had hired advisers from Lazard to lead a sale process for the business. Suite 06-11, 70/F Two International Finance Centre, No.8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Tel：+852 3961 9700 Fax：+852 3961 9799 Hony Capital, founded in 2003, is sponsored by the Lenovo Group as well as Chinese and global institutional investors. MailOnline contacted both Pizza Express and Hony Capital, neither of which could be reached this afternoon. Hony has about US$10 billion under management. Pizza Express went through a restructuring in the summer to cut its rental costs, ... is majority-owned by Chinese investor Hony Capital, which bought it for £900m in 2014. Pizza Express sold to Chinese private equity group Hony Capital for £900m. Hony Capital buys PizzaExpress for about £900 million ($1,540 million). By Mike Didymus-August 4, 2020. Hony Capital, one of China’s largest private equity firms, has acquired PizzaExpress, in a deal that values the Cinven-backed chain at £900m - the largest transaction in … Hony’s origins began in 2003 and it has particular expertise with state owned enterprises. Hony Capital bought the business from Gondola Group for around £900 million in 2014. Pizza Express’ struggles with debt have made the headlines several times in the past few months – it has £465m of secured bonds due in August 2021 and £200m of unsecured notes due the following year. Coronavirus: Pizza Express slimming plans that put 1,100 jobs at risk are approved. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, The Philippines, The United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. 985. 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