The restaurant chain Pizza Express has been sold to a Chinese company.
Hony Capital, a private equity firm, is believed to have paid some £900m for the chain in an auction in which interest was shown by other Chinese and European investment firms.
More than 500 Pizza Express outlets have been opened around the world, with 436 of them in the UK. In China, there are 12 in Hong Kong and 9 in Shanghai but the first Pizza Express in Beijing opened just this year.
Other outlets exist in India, Bali and Saudi Arabia.
The new owners say they plan to open more Pizza Express restaurants both in the UK and in Asia.
China is gaining increasing experience to buying and taking over British businesses.
In 2012, China's Bright Food bought a controlling stake in Weetabix, which owns the breakfast cereal brand as well as Alpen and Ready Brek.
