Hawksmoor, a high-end chain of steakhouses, has been listed for sale. The deal could be worth around £100m.
The restaurant chain hired Stephens Investment Bank to begin looking for potential buyers for its business. It hopes to expand overseas.
Hawksmoor was founded by Will Beckett & Huw Gott in 2006. It now has 13 locations, three of which are outside the UK. It opened its first Chicago restaurant last week. Other locations are in Dublin, New York, and Dublin.
Graphite Capital owns 51% of the company after paying £35m in 2013 to support a buyout by the two founders.
After a deal has been completed, Beckett will retain his stake. He is currently the chief executive and Gott owns a minority stake.
Hawksmoor declined to comment on the deal, but Beckett stated: “We have a great relationship and together we’re getting to know more about the US investment community.” We may see an opportunity that we would like to explore with you.
Beckett & Gott opened their first Hawksmoor Restaurant in Spitalfields in east London in 2006. They then opened a second Hawksmoor in Covent Garden, London in 2010, and a third Hawksmoor in City of London, London in 2011.
Hawksmoor reported last week that revenues for the 12-month period up to April were £90m. This is a 20% increase from the previous year. According to The FT, a source close to the firm said that the company’s profits were over £10m by the end of June.
Three years ago, Hawksmoor had abandoned plans to list on the London Stock Exchange. The company cited a general uncertainty in the industry due to disruptions of the supply chain and labour shortages after the country emerged from pandemic lockdowns.
This potential deal comes after several high-profile restaurant chain sales in the last 12 months.
The Restaurant Group , which includes Frankie & Benny’s, Wagamama and other restaurants, was taken private by the US-based Apollo group in October. Fulham Shore was purchased by Toridoll, the Japanese restaurant operator, in April of last year for £93m.
Hawksmoor’s possible sale comes at a time when the restaurant and pub sector is facing a challenging outlook. Last month, the trade group UKHospitality released figures that showed between 2021-2023, 22 859 businesses closed in the industry, and only 11 734 opened.
Graphite Capital has said it will not comment on rumours about the market.
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