Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]
Hungry suitors circle Pizza Hut as owners put the restaurant chain up for sale February 14, 2016 The Private equity owner of Pizza Hut has put the restaurant chain up for sale after hiring advisers at PwC to find a buyer. Rutland Partners bought Pizza Hut’s UK franchise business from US firm Yum! brands in 2012 and set out on a £60m revamp of its 285-plus outlets to boost trading. Efforts have [...]
Equistone takes £100m prime cut of Argentinian steak house Gaucho January 17, 2016 The Gaucho chain of Argentinian steak restaurants has been snapped up by a hungry buyout firm in a deal thought to be worth around £100m. Equistone, the private equity firm previously owned by Barclays, is said to have beaten other interested suitors to buy a majority stake in the chain. Gaucho’s founder, the Dutch entrepreneur Zeev [...]
Q&A: Enotria’s CEO on acquiring Coe Vintners January 25, 2016 Troy Christensen, chief executive of Enotria & Coe, and Gary Edwards, growth and acquisition finance at Investec, explain the background, challenges, and motivation behind premium wine supplier Enotria’s acquisition of Coe Vintners. Why did Enotria decide to acquire Coe Vintners? Troy Christensen: Enotria was founded in the 1970s with the intention of bringing the best Italian [...]
New UK restaurant openings soar as pubs dwindle September 21, 2015 The number of restaurants across the UK surpassed the number of pubs that are predominantly drinking holes for the first time this year, fuelled by the booming casual dining trend and improving consumer confidence. Research released yesterday by AlixPartners and CGA Peach reveals that a net 1,770 new restaurants opened in the year to 30 [...]
Gaucho steak restaurant deal on the table amid flurry of sales in industry July 19, 2015 The Gaucho chain of steak restaurants, popular with hungry City workers, is up for sale. Bankers at Canaccord Genuity have been hired to work on the sale, with private equity firm ICG and Dutch entrepreneur Zeev Godik hoping to raise up to £150m. The industry has been ripe for deals in recent times, with brands [...]
Prezzo gobbled up for £304m by American private equity firm TPG November 6, 2014 Prezzo yesterday agreed to a £303.7m cash bid by American private equity firm TPG, valuing the high street Italian restaurant chain at almost 10 times its operating profit. TPG, which saw off competition from buyout firm Advent to seal the deal, launched the offer via Papa Bidco, a newly incorporated company indirectly owned by the [...]
Private equity firm TPG to move offices to Mayfair’s Park House June 16, 2015 Private equity firm TPG has signed a deal to relocate its European headquarters to a new development opposite Selfridges department store on Oxford Street. The US-based firm, which is currently based at 5-7 Carlton Gardens in London’s St James, has agreed to take the entire fifth floor of Park House on a 15-year lease, the [...]
Prezzo share price reacts as bidders offer £316m for a slice of Italian food chain October 2, 2014 Italian high street restaurant chain Prezzo yesterday confirmed that it had received preliminary proposals for a potential takeover offer. Although Prezzo cautioned that any deal was unlikely to be at a premium to its closing price on Wednesday of 135p per share, or around £316m. Shares in Prezzo yesterday jumped as much as 11 per [...]
Alliance Trust gets a year to show results as Elliott Advisors gives 12 months’ notice April 28, 2015 Investment firm Alliance Trust has been put on 12-months’ notice by activist investor Elliott Advisors to show results or be forced to change its strategy. In a vicious battle over the past month, both sides have been rallying support among shareholders, with Elliott pushing for three new directors to join the board, and Alliance [...]