PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) and the world’s largest pizza restaurant company, reinforced its dedication to expansion in Europe by signing a development agreement with AmRest Holdings SE (WSA: EAT) for Central and Eastern Europe.
AmRest, which currently operates 80 Pizza Hut restaurants in Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic, signed a master franchise agreement with Pizza Hut with plans to develop over 300 restaurants over the next five years. As a master franchisee, AmRest will have the right to own, develop and sub-franchise Pizza Hut restaurants in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with AmRest and open the door for rapid development in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Natalia Barsegiyan, General Manager, Pizza Hut Europe. “AmRest’s expertise in the region and experience as a Pizza Hut operator will help us bring the Pizza Hut brand to millions of consumers who currently don’t have access to our products.”
Pizza Hut currently has more than 700 restaurants in Continental Europe across 24 countries and more than 16,000 restaurants worldwide in 102 countries.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. The company began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to start a pizzeria. What started out small has become the biggest pizza company in the world and today operates more than 16,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing children’s literacy program used in more than 630,000 classrooms nationwide.
For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com. Follow Pizza Hut on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PizzaHut), Twitter (www.twitter.com/pizzahut) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/pizzahut).
ABOUT YUM! BRANDS
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has nearly 43,000 restaurants in almost 140 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #218 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion in 2015 and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. The Company’s restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over six new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in global retail development.
ABOUT AMREST
AmRest’s history started in 1993 with an opening of the first Pizza Hut restaurant in Wrocław and today is the largest independent chain restaurant operator in Central and Eastern Europe. AmRest currently operates more than 1,000 restaurants in 13 countries through a portfolio of superior brands: Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, La Tagliatella, Blue Frog and Kabb. Every day, through the Company’s WJM culture, over 25,000 employees deliver delicious taste and exceptional service at affordable prices.
