Archive press releases

18 January 2005

Legal & General Ventures acquires restaurant operator Tragus

Legal & General Ventures ("LGV") announces its acquisition of Tragus Holdings Limited (“Tragus”) the owner of the Café Rouge and Bella Italia restaurant chains. A total funding package of £107m has been put in place to purchase the group and provide working capital and acquisition capital to significantly grow the number of operational units.

Tragus is one of the largest mid-market restaurant chain operators in the UK, with 157 sites across the country serving over 10 million meals every year. Its key brands are Café Rouge and Bella Italia along with a brasserie operation comprising Mamma Amalfi, Abbaye, Leadenhall Wine & Tapas Bar and Oriel restaurant in London’s Sloane Square. Based in London, the company employs approximately 3,800 people.

The business is expected to generate revenues of around £114m in the year to May 2005. Tragus also confirmed strong Christmas trading results today with like-for-like sales up 11% in the six weeks to 2 January 2005, demonstrating the strength of the brands and the quality of the offering.

Graham Turner, previously the Managing Director of the Unique Pub Company, becomes Chief Executive of Tragus. Current Finance Director, Mohan Mansigani becomes Chief Financial Officer and James Parsons, formerly Operations Director of Café Rouge, becomes Chief Operating Officer. The company’s existing bankers, Barclays, will provide the facilities to fund the acquisition and further support for the future development of the business.

Commenting on the acquisition, Graham Turner, new Chief Executive of Tragus said:

"Café Rouge and Bella Italia have been revitalised under Tragus, returning to their true heritage as High Street favourites in the classic sectors of French and Italian dining. With the support of LGV we will be able to maximise the potential of these brands in the UK as well as utilising Tragus’s management expertise to exploit opportunities in the rapidly developing UK restaurant sector."

PricewaterhouseCoopers advised LGV on its acquisition of Tragus.

Barclays Leveraged Finance provided the senior and mezzanine debt to Tragus, building on their long standing relationship as bankers to the company.