Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in a dispute with the founder of a Chinese restaurant chain less than a year after it bought a majority stake in the company for S$300 million, according to a court document and a person familiar with the matter.

A Hong Kong court ordered last month the freezing of personal assets of Zhang Lan, founder of South Beauty Investment Co, as part of arbitration proceedings between a CVC subsidiary, Zhang, and two other respondents, according to a court document dated March 18.