Thu, 08 Aug 2013 | BUSINESS SALE
Buyout firm Cinven is mulling a possible sale of Pizza Express owner Gondola Group, after hanging on to it for eight years.
Private equity firms usually hold on to portfolio companies for three to five years before selling on, but in the lengthy economic downturn Cinven held tight for longer.
With the economy picking up, Cinven is now considering hiring bankers after the summer to look at strategic options for Gondola Group, including a full or partial sale. It is believed preliminary talks with bankers regarding a sale have taken place over the past few weeks. An unnamed source said a sale is likely to happen next year.
Cinven purchased Gondola Group in 2006 in a €1.3 billion (£1.1bn) deal, and took on some of Britain’s most popular restaurant chains including Byron, Zizzi and Ask.
The buyout firm had previously received unsolicited bids for burger chain Byron, and ran a sale process, only to pull out after the bidders did not meet its price requirements.
Operating 680 restaurants, and staffed by a workforce of 15,000, a possible sale of Gondola may be worth about £1 billion.
In the group’s interim report, chairman Chris Woodhouse said: “We have delivered a resilient performance, despite the challenging backdrop, as the UK economy remained under pressure.”
_________________________________________________________________________
Related information:
Byron burger business for sale
Yum Brands to sell Pizza Hut businesses
View all food businesses for sale
The company is a specialist provider of lifting and safety equipment for hire and sale. The company also offers onsite LOLER equipment inspections, repair, and maintenance services for customers’ own lifting equipment and benefits from an 80t capacit...
Seeking parties interested in the business and assets of a company that provides tailored engineering and electronic technology solutions, by designing and manufacturing products utilised for offshore energy purposes and Marine Aquaculture.
Presently seeking parties interested in the business and assets of a Company specialising in the stockholding and distribution of niche steel products.
Please choose your settings for this site below. For more information please read our Cookie Policy
These cookies are necessary for our website to function properly and provide you with access to all features.
These are analytics cookies that help us to improve the way our website works.
These are used to improve the functional performance of the website and make it easier for you to use.