PizzaExpress management may quit if Johnson bid wins

The top 20 managers at PizzaExpress have threatened to resign if Luke Johnson, the former chairman, wins support for his agreed £263m takeover bid of the struggling restaurant group.

The possibility of widescale resignations could pose operational difficulties for Mr Johnson should his 367p-a-share bid succeed.

While it is no secret that there is little love lost between David Page, the group's chief executive, and Mr Johnson, who is partnered by Ian Eldridge, Mr Page's predecessor, mass resignations had not been anticipated. An attempt by Mr Page to engineer a management buyout failed after his backer, the European private equity group PAI, could not beat Mr Johnson's offer.

Mr Johnson, who helped to float PizzaExpress 10 years ago and sat on its board until 1999, last night conceded that the executive directors were likely to leave but dismissed the suggestion that regional directors were unhappy about the prospect of him returning to the company. "I don't think there is any realistic prospect of a big staff walk-out," he said, adding that below the executive tier he thought resignations were "extremely unlikely".

Beneath board level, the group's operations are run by David Sykes, the managing director. There are three regional operations directors, each responsible for about 100 restaurants; operational managers look after between 12 and 17 sites each.

Meanwhile, representatives from Capricorn Ventures International, the group behind the Nando's chicken chain that has said it is considering trumping Mr Johnson's bid, are understood to have met with PizzaExpress' independent directors on Monday evening to discuss a possible offer.

A spokesman for Capricorn, which has teamed up with TDR Capital, another venture capital group, yesterday refused to comment on the value of a potential higher offer. But industry sources reckon an offer, which would be financed by HBOS, would be worth at least 380p a share.

The talks between Capricorn and the PizzaExpress non-executives, who are headed by Nigel Colne, the chairman, are understood to have faltered on the £2.6m break fee that the company has agreed to pay Venice Bidder, Mr Johnson's vehicle, in the event of a competing bid.

PizzaExpress shares fell 3.5p to 377.5p, giving it a market capitalisation of £271m.