It's the tale of two pizza companies. At Eagle Boys, long-suffering employees, minority shareholders and franchisees are trying to come to grips with how the outfit went from being a sound, profitable business to one that is now in administration.

The runaway success of rival Domino's has made Eagle Boys' descent into disaster even more fascinating.

Some believe a fractured relationship with many of its franchisees, a botched strategy, lack of transparency and loss of customers, helped consolidate Domino's position as the No.1 pizza operator in the country.

The administrator, SV Partners, has written to franchisees to inform them the company is in administration but that they still have to pay their fees. "At the end of the day, your customers will not really care about the franchisor's business. They care about the pizza, the service you are providing and the value they get," the administrators said in a letter.