Pizza Hut
Founded in Kansas in 1958 by Dan and Frank Carney and now around 18,000 restaurants, more than 600 of them British, franchised here since 1973. PepsiCo bought it in 1977 and spun it out two decades later into what became Yum! Brands. Franchisees need £500,000 in funds.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. The chain has circa 18,000 restaurants worldwide, including more than 600 in the UK, where it has franchised since 1973. It is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands. PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in 1977, and 20 years later spun it off (along with Taco Bell and KFC), with all three becoming part of a new company named Tricon Global Restaurants, which assumed the name of Yum! Brands in 2002.
In November 2021, Pizza Hut Delivery expanded into the “on-the-go” travel market through a new franchise partnership with EG Group, the forecourt and roadside operator, which it said will allow the business to further adapt its offerings in line with customer demand and the wider industry trend towards convenience. It was Pizza Hut’s latest partnership to further grow the brand across the UK and Europe, following agreements with hotel operator Nine Group and Starboard Dining.
In July 2024, Pizza Hut launched a “major brand reset” alongside a new range of handcrafted pizzas. It said all team members have been retrained in “the art of handcrafted”, which sees sourdough style dough hand-stretched to create light and airy pizzas. In December 2024, DC London Pie was formed to run Pizza Hut UK by US firm Directional Capital following the collapse of former franchisee Heart With Smart.
In October 2025, DC Pie itself went into administration, with the administrators securing a deal with Yum! Europe which saw 79 restaurants close and 64 safeguarded, with approximately 1,254 team members transferred to Yum! Following this, Yum! announced a formal review of strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand which it said will explore a range of strategic options.
“Pizza Hut is a beloved global brand and industry innovator that connects people through the joy of pizza, and we are confident in its long-term future,” said Yum! Brands chief executive Chris Turner. “Pizza Hut has many strengths - including deep consumer love, a global footprint, strong growth in many markets, a talented team, and an increasingly powerful technology platform.
“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. To truly take advantage of the brand we’ve built and the opportunities ahead, we’ve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options.”
In April 2026, Pizza Hut launched an updated loyalty programme - Hut Rewards. Evolving its consumer offering beyond a spend-based model, the upgraded loyalty programme spotlights and rewards every order. Users will receive a digital stamp with each order over £10, with stamps one, four, six and nine earning customers rewards - from a free garlic bread through to a free pizza. Once all nine stamps have been redeemed, customers start over, reaping the rewards each time they make a delivery or collection order through the app or delivery website.
In June 2026, Yum! Brands said it has agreed to sell Pizza Hut in two separate transactions totalling $2.7bn. Pizza Hut operations outside of mainland China will be sold to LongRange Capital, a private equity firm, for approximately $1.5bn, with an additional potential earn-out of $75m. Pizza Hut's mainland China business will be sold to Yum China Holdings for approximately $1.2bn. Yum chief executive Chris Turner said the transactions “enable Yum! to be a more focused company” and that Pizza Hut “will be well positioned for future growth” under its new ownership.
Why franchise with Pizza Hut
- Pizza Hut franchisees operate approximately 600 stores across the UK, which include both delivery assets and full sized dine-in restaurants. In the UK, Pizza Hut Delivery operates a 100% franchised network. (Pizza Hut Restaurants in the UK is fully franchised and was acquired by the management team in 2018.) Access to funds of £500,000 is required, as well as previous experience of franchising, preferably in the food/catering sector. Pizza Hut Delivery isn’t currently looking for owner-operators who are content with opening no more than a couple of stores.
- The investment level required from a new franchisee is, at the very least, £130,000- £150,000 in easily accessible, liquid funds. This is to ensure future investors have the backing in place to grow to a minimum of four to six stores as quickly as possible and complement the existing growth strategy. As a franchisee, you will receive full ongoing training and support tailored to your requirements and experience, plus the use of the Pizza Hut brand and tried and tested systems.
- Day-to-day support is provided by franchise business managers, acquisitions managers and experts in key functions such as marketing, new product development and training. The process is registering an interest, interview, in-store experience, business plan meeting, approval interview, application approval in principle and structured training programme.
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