Popular pizza chain saved by rescue deal after 150 restaurants were at risk of closure

PIZZA Hut has been saved from the brink of collapse by a major investment firm.

Directional Capital, which controls vast numbers of the chain's restaurants in Denmark and Sweden, will reportedly take over roughly 150 sites in the UK.

If the rescue deal is successful it will save the majority of its British restaurants and jobs.

According to , the deal would be structured as an acquisition of Heart With Smart (HWS), the main franchise-holder, by Directional Capital.

HWS was previously known as Pizza Hut Restaurants and employs around 3,000 staff members.

Pizza Hut employees have been told that an insolvency of the corporate entity wouldn't result in redundancies and job losses.

Sources have said that only one store would close as part of the deal.

HWS chief executive Jens Hofma told Sky News: "Over the past six years, we have made great progress in building our business and strengthening our operations to become one of the UK's leading hospitality franchise operators, all whilst navigating a challenging economic backdrop."

"With the acquisition by Directional Capital announced today, the future of the business has been secred with a strong platform in place."

Pizza Hut first arrived in the UK in the 1970s and grew rapidly in popularity.

In 2020, the chain decided to close 29 branches, after struggling from the backlash of Covid.

At that time, it operated more than 240 sites across the UK.

The company launched a voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal.

A CVA is an agreement between a business and its lenders to secure cost-cutting measures - it doesn't mean a company has gone bust.

The Sun has approached Pizza Hut and Directional Capital for comment.

The future of the pizza chain has been up in the air for years now after it was hammered by changing tastes, Covid, and then inflation.

Earlier this month, one family said they found a spider baked into a pie from Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut is investigating the incident and offered the family a £20 voucher - but also said: “We take food hygiene extremely seriously.”

In July, Pizza Hut shut down a branch in Kent after it had been operating at the site for 20 years.

Fans were left devastated after learning the news of the store's closure.

But they'll be happy with today's news and a future confirmed for the chain.