US-based pizza restaurant chain Papa Johns International has acquired Drake Food Service International’s (DFSI) restaurants in the UK.

The companies have not disclosed the financial details of the deal.

As part of the deal, Papa Johns will take over restaurants previously operated by DFSI’s division M25.

With this transaction, the new corporate-owned restaurant portfolio will now consist of 91 locations across London and other parts of the UK.

Papa Johns chief international and development officer Amanda Clark said: “The UK is important within our international footprint with the largest number of stores outside of North America, strong brand awareness with consumers and potential for long-term growth as we still have tremendous whitespace in the market.

“Owning and operating restaurants will allow Papa Johns to follow a similar model that we’ve created in the US, which enables us to leverage our resources, best practices and scale with franchisees in the UK and worldwide to further their success.”

As per the terms of the agreement, nearly 1,000 DFSI M25 employees will now join Papa Johns payrolls. DFSI will hold the master franchise rights for Papa Johns in Spain, Portugal, Chile and Central America.

DFSI managing partner and CEO Fernando Frauca said: “By exiting our stake in the UK, we will be able to focus our efforts on our Papa Johns portfolio in Iberia and Latin America.

“We are proud to be a partner of this brand and look forward to continuing to invest in our other markets.”