RCapital, the Little Chef owner, has taken the decision to explore options for the road-side restaurant business. The private equity house that specialises in business turnarounds purchased the business in 2007.
Over the last six years, RCapital has successfully completed an operational turnaround and financial restructuring, which has repositioned the business and brought the group of companies back into profitability.
The move was part of a long-term critical rebuild strategy to create consistently profitable sites against the backdrop of one of the worst recessions in living memory. With the turnaround successfully completed, it’s time to explore the next phase for the food service operator.
Little Chef employs 1100 staff and serves more than 6m customers a year across its 83 sites on Britain’s A-roads from Devon to Scotland. The Little Chef estate is one of the biggest quality estates to come to market in recent years.
KPMG’s corporate finance team have been appointed to manage the process.