Gusto, the North Western restaurant chain favoured by footballers and their WAGs, has changed hands in a management buyout from Living Ventures backed by Manchester-based private equity group Paladian.
Gusto will use the £10m investment to roll out an expansion plan to increase the number of its Italian-style restaurants from six to 25 within the next couple of years.
The deal will mean that London-listed The Restaurant Group will exit the business and is receiving £7m cash proceeds, which it will use to deliver a special dividend of 3.45p per share to its investors. The directors of Living Ventures Group, Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts, have invested separately in the new Gusto ownership and will remain as non-executive directors.
Gusto currently operates across nine sites in the north including, Alderley Edge, Cookridge, Cheadle Hulme, Didsbury, Edinburgh, Heswall, Knutsford, Liverpool and Newcastle.
“Celebrities have helped our profile, but our bread and butter is the Mr and Mrs Smiths who come in twice a week for dinner. But it’s not unusual for Coleen [Roooney] to be papped carrying Gusto takeaway boxes. Our Alderley restaurant has become a celebrity hotspot,” Gusto managing director Sue Crimes said.
Gusto achieved sales of £16.4m this year, an 8pc year-on-year increase and currently employs more than 400 staff across its various locations.
Gusto already has plans to open in Manchester City centre and has picked out locations in Glasgow, Cheshire, Leamington and York.
Palatine Private Equity typically focuses on investments of £10m to £25m and also owns discount holiday price-comparison site icelolly.com. BDO advised the buyer on the transaction.
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