The Restaurant Group Explained

The Restaurant Group plc
Type:Private
Key People:Ken Hanna (Chairman)
Andy Hornby (CEO)
Kirk Davis (CFO)
Industry:Restaurant
Revenue: £459.8 million (2020)[1]
Operating Income: £(49.7) million (2020)
Net Income: £(119.9) million (2020)
Num Employees:14,000 (2021)[2]
Location:London, England

The Restaurant Group plc is a British chain of restaurants and public houses. Their principal trading brands are Wagamama and Barburrito. The Group also operates Pub restaurants and a Concessions business which trades principally at UK airports.

History

The company was founded by Matthew Brown from Chatteris in 1987 as City Centre Restaurants plc with the objective of owning and managing the Garfunkel's Restaurant chain.[3] In the late 1980s, it bought the Mexican foodchain Chi Chi's and renamed it Chiquito.[3]

In 1995, four years after it was reported to have 151 restaurants,[4] the firm opened its first Frankie & Benny's in Leicester.[3] Then, a month before making an unsuccessful bid for Ask Central plc,[5] it changed its name to The Restaurant Group plc in January 2004.[6]

In 2006, TRG bought back the Deep Pan Pizza chain, which it had previously sold to the management.[7] In 2018, two years after announcing the closure of 33 units due to falling sales and profits,[8] the firm purchased noodle chain Wagamama for £559m, to diversify its portfolio.[9]

In May 2018, the Brunning & Price division purchased the Ribble Valley Inns, a collection of restaurant and real ale pubs in the north of England, from the Northcote Group for an undisclosed sum.[10] In August, the division purchased the 11-strong portfolio of Food & Fuel Pubs, which included two Coco Momo wine bars, for £15.4 million.[11]

On 3 June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, The Restaurant Group told employees a "large number" of its outlets would not reopen after lockdown;[12] up to 120 restaurants, mainly Frankie & Benny's, were set to close permanently,[13] with the loss of between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs.[14] On 8 June, TRG said it was in discussions with its landlords about potential restructuring options,[14] and three days later announced it had entered a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) and planned to cut 125 sites.[15]

In October 2020 the business suffered a significant shareholder revolt over the proposed pay package of its chief executive, Andy Hornby. After a year involving over 4,000 job losses and approximately 230 restaurant closures more than a third of investors opposed the package.[16]

In 2023, The Restaurant Group sold most of its portfolio except for Wagamama, Brunning & Price and Barburrito to The Big Table Group for £7.5 million.[17] [18] In October, the board of the company announced that it intended to recommend to shareholders that they accept a £506 million takeover offer from US buyout group Apollo Global Management (APG).[19]

In December 2023, it was announced that Apollo had completed its purchase of the company for £701 million.[20]

Operations

As of December 2019, The Restaurant Group plc operated over 400 restaurants and pub restaurants throughout the UK. It also operates a multi‐brand Concessions business which trades principally in UK airports. In addition, the Wagamama business had 6 restaurants in the US and over 50 franchise restaurants operating across a number of territories.[1]

Subsidiaries

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Annual Results 2020. Restaurant Group. 8 April 2021. 16 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230416095336/https://otp.investis.com/Utilities/PDFDownload.aspx?Newsid=1459697. live.
  2. Web site: Our people. The Restaurant Group. 1 June 2021. 2 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214012/https://www.trgplc.com/csr/our-people/. live.
  3. Web site: Catering & Hospitality News. Caterer Search. 3 April 2015. 20 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130120190309/http://www.caterersearch.com/Companies/33945/restaurant-group-the.html. live.
  4. News: Whatley . Garrod . 1991-08-21 . Restaurant chains' profits are eaten away . The Press and Journal . 2023-04-16 .
  5. Web site: PizzaExpress trumps Restaurant Group with £225m offer for Ask. 13 February 2004. The Caterer. 23 April 2017. 24 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170424174347/https://www.thecaterer.com/articles/52042/pizzaexpress-trumps-restaurant-group-with-225m-offer-for-ask. live.
  6. Web site: FE Investegate -CityCentreRestaurant Announcements - CityCentreRestaurant: Result of EGM & Name Change. investegate.co.uk. 3 April 2015. 7 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150407171855/http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200401141230322278U. live.
  7. Web site: TRG buys back Deep Pan Pizza. www.pizzamarketplace.com. 3 April 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121007001426/http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article/109050/TRG-buys-back-Deep-Pan-Pizza. 7 October 2012.
  8. Web site: Kollewe. Julia. Frankie & Benny's owner closes 33 restaurants. The Guardian. 26 August 2016. 26 August 2016. 26 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160826101348/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/26/frankie-bennys-owner-closes-restaurants. live.
  9. Web site: Wagamama noodle chain sold to Frankie & Benny owner. The Guardian. 30 October 2018. 30 October 2018. 30 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181030212503/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/30/wagamama-noodle-chain-sold-frankie-and-bennys-owner-restaurant-group. live.
  10. News: Witts . Sophie . Northcote Group sells four Ribble Valley Inns sites . 15 August 2020 . Big Hospitality . 23 May 2018 . 9 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809121613/https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2018/05/23/Northcote-Group-sells-four-Ribble-Valley-Inns-sites . live .
  11. Web site: Company Archive . Brunning & Price Ltd . 15 August 2020 . August 2018 . 27 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200927163013/https://www.brunningandprice.co.uk/company/company-archive/ . live .
  12. News: Jones . Lora . Frankie & Benny's owner: Some sites won't reopen . 3 June 2020 . BBC News . 2 June 2020 . 2 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200602220357/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52899624 . live .
  13. News: Butler . Sarah . Frankie & Benny's owner to permanently close 120 restaurants . 5 June 2020 . Guardian . 3 June 2020 . 4 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200604232549/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/03/frankie-and-bennys-owner-permanently-close-restaurants-restaurant-group . live .
  14. News: McAllister . James . TRG in talks with landlords over 'potential restructuring options' for leisure estate . 8 June 2020 . Big Hospitality . 8 June 2020 . 2 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202180552/https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2020/06/08/The-Restaurant-Group-in-talks-with-landlords-over-potential-restructuring-options-for-leisure-estate-Coronavirus . live .
  15. News: McAllister . James . TRG eyes 125 closures as CVA announced . 11 June 2020 . Big Hospitality . 11 June 2020 . 31 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031160058/https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2020/06/10/The-Restaurant-Group-125-restaurant-closures-Frankie-and-Benny-s-CVA-Coronavirus-casual-dining . live .
  16. News: Shareholders revolt over Restaurant Group's CEO pay plans. 2020-10-30. Financial Times. 8 October 2020. 2020-10-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20201011175436/https://www.ft.com/content/59109fc8-0706-40b9-99bc-26d323d6112c. live.
  17. Web site: O'Boyle . Daniel . 2023-09-11 . The Restaurant Group pays £7.5m to get rid of ailing Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito . 2023-09-11 . Evening Standard . en.
  18. Web site: The Big Table Group Coast to Coast - The Big Table Group . 2024-04-03 . www.bigtablegroup.com.
  19. News: Makortoff . Kalyeena . 2023-10-12 . The Restaurant Group to go private after accepting £506m takeover bid . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-12 . 0261-3077.
  20. Web site: Apollo Global Management completes takeover of The Restaurant Group. Verdict Food Service. 2024-01-12. en.

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