Perfect Pizza marriage. Gresham Trust blesses £20m deal

Perfect Pizza, which has become the largest independent pizza delivery and takeaway business in the United Kingdom and is still expanding, has been bought for £20m by Papa John's International Inc, the third biggest pizza company in the United States.

Gresham Trust, the private equity house, backed a management buy-out of Perfect Pizza two years ago and has negotiated the new deal. Paul Marson-Smith, managing director of Gresham Trust, says, "Perfect Pizza's growth record in securing 15 per cent of the UK pizza market results directly from the efforts of the strong management team."

The British pizza market has now reached £360m annual turnover and is forecast to grow by at least another 33.3 per cent. Papa John's says it intends to become as well-known in the UK as it is in the United States.

James Barbour-Smith, of Gresham Trust, who handled the Perfect Pizza sale, says Gresham Trust has achieved an internal rate of return of 97 per cent on its Perfect Pizza investment.

Tony Sherriff, managing director of Perfect Pizza, will continue with the same management team under the new owners. He says, "We have always been confident about our prospects for growth. The Papa John's investment will accelerate this process. It is a perfect marriage in terms of brand values. This is very good news for us, our franchisees, and all our employees."

Papa John's owns 2,200 stores in North America, where it is the fastest growing brand in its sector, and has ambitious plans for global expansion. Papa John's sells an average of $14,346 (equivalent to £8,966) pizzas per store per week and has annual sales of $1bn.