Whitbread in talks to sell Pizza Hut
Whitbread is in talks to sell its investment in 600 UK Pizza Hut restaurants for about £100m. The company is negotiating a deal to sell its 50% stake to its partner in the joint venture, Yum Brands, the American fast-food group. It is thought an agreement could come as soon as this week. Whitbread has been in partnership with Yum, whose other brands include KFC, to run Pizza Hut in the UK since 1982. Whitbread is also understood to be moving closer to a deal to sell TGI Friday’s to Carlson, the American company that owns the brand. – Sunday Times, 30 July

Bid to oust Coffee Republic boss
Shareholders in Coffee Republic are plotting to oust Bobby Hashemi, the founder of the business and one of the people who is credited with bringing American-style coffee shops to the UK. In a rare display of shareholder power, small investors claiming to speak for 40% of the shares have written to Hashemi calling on him to step down as chairman and chief executive. – Sunday Times, 30 July

Six ex-Thistle hotels in £185m sale and leaseback
Topland, the property investment group, is to sell the six hotels acquired from Thistle Hotels last year in a £185m sale and leaseback. – The Times, 29 July.

Tourism boost hope with revamped Bath Spa
Its backers hope it will boost Bath's dwindling tourism industry when next week the troubled Bath Spa will finally open, five years late and up to £30m over budget. It will have a soft opening, while a bitter legal dispute continues to rage between its principal stakeholders behind closed doors. – The Observer, 30 July

MPW reduced Ramsay to “blubbering wreck”
Gordon Ramsay was once reduced to "a blubbering wreck" by a fellow celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. In Pierre White’s soon-to-be-published autobiography he claims he dramatically "broke" Ramsay, who used to work for him at Harvey's restaurant in Wandsworth, south London, turning the fiery Scot into a sobbing mess. A spokesman for Ramsay admitted that there was "some truth" in the claim. –  Independent on Sunday, 30 July

Dublin Domino’s Pizza store is busiest in the world
A branch of Domino’s located in the Tallaght district of Dublin is the busiest in the world of Domino’s 8,000 stores worldwide, selling up to 200 pizzas an hour. The branch is the first in Domino’s 45-year history to hit a turnover of €2.35m (£1.6m) a year. The chain says that sells one million pizzas a year. – Sunday Times (Irish edition only), 30 July

By Bob Gledhill

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