Belfast businessman Michael Herbert has sold his British and Irish network of 146 KFC restaurants to UK company, EG Group, for an undisclosed sum. The deal also includes one Pizza Hut outlet.

Mr Herbert, who also runs a Haagen-Dazs franchise, is one of the wealthiest men in the north and is a fixture on newspaper rich lists, with a fortune invariably estimated at about £73 million. He runs the business with his wife, Lesley Herbert.

Blackburn-based EG, which is run by the billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, said the deal also included a development pipeline and a small number of non-trading sites. EG now operates a network of about 1,500 sites across 10 European countries including Ireland, a new market for the group.

Zuber Issa said the group will look to open more KFC franchised outlets.