Keystone Group’s pubs up for sale
Receivers to the debt-burdened Keystone Group plan to sell its pubs by September.
Morgan Kelly, of Ferrier Hodgson, said this would give new owner time to get their systems up and running ahead of the peak summer trading season.
It would also help the receivers work off the group’s $80 million debt.
Keystone is best known for being the company behind Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian restaurant chain and a string of top Sydney venues including Bungalow 8, Cargo Bar, and The Chophouse.
Its lenders KKR and Olympus, called in the receivers when they discovered that Keystone, led by executive chairman Richard Facioni, would not be able to make a $25 million debt repayment.
Mr Kelly said it would be an orderly sale looking at getting the best possible price.
“We certainly don’t want to conduct a fire sale,” Mr Kelly told The Australian.
“There are synergies to selling the Keystone businesses in one line.”
While the receivers were looking at selling all the pubs in one package, they would consider selling off individual venues if people were prepared to pay a premium.
“We’ve got an open mind and will consider all options,” he said.
“All of the venues are good operations with experienced management.
“They are iconic brands and iconic venues.”
He said he was now going through the process of assessing whether the pubs were cash flow positive.
He would not say how much he expected to fetch from the sale but added that the places had already attracted a lot of interest.
While the people at Keystone had expressed some surprise at the appointment of receivers, Mr Kelly said calling in the corporate doctors “was the last resort, and the lenders had explored all options before the appointment of receivers”.
“They’d been working with management for a very long time, seeking a landing point,’’ he said.
by Leon Gettler, July 4th 2016
