Coronavirus: Turnaround funds seek seat at Caf茅 Rouge-owner鈥檚 table
Investment firms including Aurelius and Endless want to buy parts of Casual Dining Group, Sky News learns.
Wednesday 1 July 2020 17:21, UK
Specialist turnaround funds are vying to take control of some of Britain鈥檚 best-known restaurant chains, including Caf茅 Rouge and Las Iguanas, even as the coronavirus pandemic leaves the sector鈥檚 revival prospects highly uncertain.
Sky News has learnt that Aurelius Equity Opportunities has made an offer to buy Café Rouge and Bella Italia, two of the brands owned by Casual Dining Group (CDG).
Aurelius, a special situations investor which came close to buying the chain set up by Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef, before it collapsed last year, is understood to have tabled its bid in the last few days.
Endless, another turnaround firm, has submitted an offer for Las Iguanas, the other chain owned by CDG, and is competing against Trispan, a private equity firm which is an investor in Rosa's Thai Café, according to insiders.
The auction comes at a turbulent time for the restaurant sector, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk as a consequence of the pandemic.
Many operators have said they will be unable to reopen on Saturday following the lockdown because social distancing rules will mean their business is not viable.
This week, Byron, the burger chain, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as it races to find new owners.
Other well-known names, including Carluccio's, have been unable to stave off collapse - although part of its business, and the brand, have since been salvaged.
CDG has itself filed and subsequently extended a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
A person close to CDG, which is owned by the private equity giant KKR, said it had also received interest in a takeover of the whole group.
CDG is one of the UK's largest restaurant operators, trading from roughly 250 outlets and employing about 6,000 people.
It is expected that a significant number of outlets will face permanent closure regardless of the outcome of the sale process.
AlixPartners, the professional services firm, is advising on the process.
CDG's largest brand, Bella Italia, trades from more than 100 sites, while there are roughly 60 Las Iguanas and Café Rouge restaurants apiece.
CDG, Aurelius and Endless declined to comment, while Trispan could not be reached.