Every day another new story emerges about acquisitions, floats, fundraising in the hospitality sector. It seems that the emergence of the UK from recession is unleashing a backlog of deals that were waiting to be done, ambitions that had been held in check, or – no surtprise – debt that needed to be re-financed.
Tragus in talks with its banks?
Tragus, the owner of high street restaurant chains Cafe Rouge and Strada, is reported to be in talks with its banks because of the threat of a covenant breach in May.
Owned by private equity firm Blackstone, Tragus is not thought to have immediate cash flow problems, but has not yet succeeded in trading its way out of its problems, despite expanding with new restaurants last year.
In a separate report, it has been suggested that Apollo Global Management has acquired a substantial portion of Tragus £325 million debt and is poised to take over control of the group.
Just Eat to raise £100 million
Just Eat, the online food takeaway ordering business, is to float in April, raising £100 million. Fast expanding Just Eat has earnings of £14.1 million, but is being valued at up to a hefty £900 millionn.
However, the float has attracted criticism because it is expected to exclude retail investors – in other words, the customers who are making the business such a success will not be able to invest directly in it!