Quadrant’s bid for Jamie’s restaurant chain
Quadrant Private Equity has been expanding into the hospitality sector and has recently been running the ruler over Jamie’s Italian Australia Restaurants chain that was part of the failed Keystone Group.
Quadrant has been on an acquisition spree from November when it swooped on restaurant entrepreneur John Szangolies’s Urban Purveyor Group, picking it up for $175 million.
Szangolies' food and beverage empire extends across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and restaurants in that stable include Ananas Bar & Brasserie, The Argyle, The Cut Bar & Grill, Sake Restaurant and Bar, Bavarian Bier Cafe, Munich Brahaus, El Camino Cantina, The Alfred and Fratelli Fresh.
Quadrant is also negotiating to buy Neil Perry’s Rockpool Group. So far KPMG has produced a vendor diligence report. Word in the market is that Quadrant has yet to formally begin due diligence on the operation.
More recently, it acquired Fitness First Australia, marking its third acquisition in the gym industry in three months, coming after it acquired the listed Ardent Leisure Group’s health clubs division, comprising Goodlife Health Clubs and Hypoxi, for $260 million and Jetts Fitness.
However, there are now reports that the bid for Jamie’s has run into a problem.
The Australian reports that the deal might not go ahead for one simple reason: the entire business is a franchise.
Quadrant wants to buy the six restaurant chain but there’s one hitch – it is leasehold which means any deal has to involve a goodwill payment to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
That could complicate any deal.
At the same time, the Keystone portfolio is attracting interest from other players with reports that a private Melbourne investor wants to on-sell parts of the business.
The offers for parts of the business or the whole operation have been coming in thick and fast for Keystone’s receiver Ferrier Hodgson.
The cut-off date when the second round of expressions of interest expires this Friday, October 7.
by Leon Gettler, October 4th 2016
