Sat 31st Oct 2015 - Isfield Investments backs buy-out of Kornicis Isfield Investments backs buy-out of Kornicis: Kornicis Group, owner of Jamies and Smollensky’s branded bars and restaurants, has been sold by NBGI Private Equity to a new management team led by Richard Stringer and Ian Banks and backed by Isfield Investments. Antoine Raoux, of NBGI, said: “We first invested in Kornicis in 2008 and subsequently funded add-on acquisitions. We are delighted to have been involved with the current management team who successfully professionalised and repositioned the business to focus on the core City of London market leading to strong like-for-like performances over the last few years.” Incoming chief executive Richard Stringer and chief financial officer Ian Banks previously held executive positions at Barracuda Group and Soho House respectively. Commenting on the acquisition, Stringer said: “This great collection of bars and brands is in good shape and provides an ideal platform for further development and roll-out. Jamies, in particular, has a strong presence in The City and clearly has potential to be taken to a wider audience. We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue the excellent work carried out by Nick Tamblyn and Colin Stokes and I would like to thank them for their contribution to the company and to this process.” Banks added: “With 17 bars and restaurants based primarily in The City of London and a well-known brand in Jamies, plus the backing of new equity investment, we are confident that we shall deliver our ambitious expansion and roll-out plans.” Isfield partner and incoming chairman Simon Vardigans commented: “Having worked with the new management team before, I am confident that they will take advantage of the new ownership and funding structure to build on the strong business foundations that have already been put in place.” Advisors on the transaction were: Coffer Corporate Leisure, Osborne Clarke, Rees Pollock, John Gaunt, Holman Fenwick Willan, DWF and Field Fisher Waterhouse. The price was undisclosed. Kornicis reported Ebitda up 22% to £2,203,000 in the year to 27 September 2014. Turnover in the core estate was £13,395,000 compared to £12,459,000 the year before. Overall, turnover, including nom-core sites, was £15,627,303 compared to £17,011,352 the year before. In Companies House documents filed for the financial year, it stated: “The core estate had another strong year, with like-for-like sale up 7% and site Ebitda up 22%. During the year, significant progress was made on streamlining non-core sites, with three out of the four non-core sites successfully disposed of for premiums. The disposal resulted in a loss of £1.7m versus the net book value, but the disposals will improve group profitability. The Manchester Henry J Beans site is the only remaining non-core site and is currently being marketed.”