Unbridled Capital Sells 17 Pizza Huts in AL

01.19.2018

Unbridled Capital, a franchise advisory firm focused primarily on the restaurant industry, closed the following transaction in December: Cecil Eiserer and SEC Restaurants sold their 17 Pizza Hut restaurants, including the underlying real estate, to existing Pizza Hut franchisee Legacy Pizza. These restaurants are located throughout Alabama. Unbridled provided sell-side M&A advisory to SEC Restaurants.

“The buyer in this transaction represents a progressive trend in the business, which is an influx of 30- to 40-year-old operators who are backed by investors and family offices. And we’re seeing this within the legacy brands,” said Rick Ormsby, managing director of Unbridled Capital. “Private equity is more an option for companies with $8 million to $10 million in EBITDA or more. For companies with $2 million to $5 million in EBITDA, private equity just isn’t interested, but it is a good play for a smaller family office. And, they don’t have the timeline that PE usually does, which is an exit anywhere from five to seven years.”

Unbridled Capital decided to focus on family offices as a source of M&A and equity financing for their multiunit restaurant clients—those deals that represent 20 to 70 units. “While we will do larger deals and have established relationships with private equity, that segment is underserved,” said Ormsby. For more information on Unbridled Capital, Rick Ormsby, at 502-252-6422, or [email protected].