Ask deal nearer as bidding war escalates

PizzaExpress has upped the ante in the bid to buy rival pizza and pasta group Ask Central.

Owners of PizzaExpress, venture capital group TDR and Capricorn Ventures, have made a £225 million offer for Ask, equivalent of a 220p-a-share bid to shareholders.

The bid was tabled by TDR and Capricorn Ventures, through a company formed specifically for the task, called Riposte.

It represents a 20 per cent improvement on a previous recommended cash-and-shares offer from The Restaurant Group, which came in at 182p a share.

Manjit Dale, founding partner at TDR, said: "Adam and Samuel Kaye and their team have built a great business with excellent prospects. We intend to build on their success by developing the leading full-service restaurant chain in the UK."

TDR and Capricorn bought PizzaExpress for £277.8m in July 2003. A merger with Ask would create a group with some 475 restaurants in the UK.