Johnson bakes fresh £250m bid to sell resurgent Gail's café chain

Luke Johnson, one of Britain’s best-known hospitality entrepreneurs, is baking a fresh attempt to sell Gail’s, the upmarket café chain which has seen a sharp sales rebound despite the pandemic’s impact on the restaurant sector.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Johnson’s private equity vehicle, Risk Capital Partners, has asked bankers at Nomura to conduct a review of strategic options for Bread Holdings, the parent company of Gail’s retail business and its central craft bakery.

Industry sources said they anticipated that Gail’s could command a price-tag of up to £250m, with expectations for revenue in the current financial year to exceed pre-pandemic levels and profitability to hit a record in the 12 months to next February.

The performance will cap a remarkable turnaround for a company which, like its industry peers, was forced to close many of its sites for part of the pandemic and open for takeaway-only service at other times.

Gail’s now trades from 68 outlets, with plans to open dozens more sites – taking the total to more than 100 – during the next three years.

It specialises in selling a range of premium sourdough breads, pastries, and cakes, alongside coffee and a hot food prepared in-store.

Larger private equity firms are expected to show an interest in acquiring the business, which is bucking the trend of a sector which has seen mass closures, insolvencies and financial restructurings in recent times.

Mr Johnson, who confirmed Nomura’s appointment on Tuesday, is one of the country’s most prolific hospitality investors, having backed restaurant chains including PizzaExpress, Giraffe and Strada during the last three decades.

He also chairs The Brighton Pier Group, the listed operator of the eponymous attraction as well as a number of bars around the country.

His status as one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs suffered a setback in 2019 when an accounting fraud at Patisserie Holdings, the publicly traded café chain where he had been executive chairman for years, was uncovered.

Mr Johnson tried to rescue Patisserie Valerie, its main subsidiary, by providing a £10m emergency loan to keep it out of administration, but the deepening scale of the crisis led to its collapse and break-up.

The entrepreneur has enjoyed better fortunes since then with Marriott International’s £101m takeover of Elegant Hotels, a luxury Caribbean hotels group listed on the London stock market that was backed by Mr Johnson.

The former Channel 4 chairman has also been back on the acquisition trail, with his private investment vehicle buying All Star Lanes, the chain of ten-pin bowling venues, out of administration.

His renewed exploration of a sale of Bread Holdings comes after earlier flirtations with an auction process.

Risk Capital holds a big stake in Bread Holdings, alongside management team members including Tom Molnar, chief executive.

Mr Molnar established the business with Ran Avidan, naming it after Gail Mejia, who was a supplier of premium bread to restaurants.

Its first site selling artisan bread products, hot food and premium coffee opened in Hampstead, north London, in 2005.

Mr Johnson invested in the company in 2011.

Its retail operations are concentrated in affluent locations with high footfall, with its branches distributed across London and southeast England.

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