New vehicle backed by Sir Malcolm Walker acquires Individual Restaurants estate in £40m deal: Ice Acquisitions, a new vehicle controlled by Sir Malcolm Walker and Tarsem Dhaliwal, has bought back the Piccolino, Restaurant Bar & Grill, Opera Grill and Bank restaurant collection, previously Individual Restaurants, in a deal worth more than £40m. The deal secures the future of 28 restaurants, protecting the jobs of 1,300 employees. Thirteen of the restaurants are currently open for collection and delivery and will fully open for dining next Wednesday (2 December) along with the other 15 restaurants, subject to any government or local restrictions. Dhaliwal said: “Like other hospitality businesses throughout the UK, these restaurants have been severely affected by the covid-19 pandemic. I am delighted we have been able to secure a solution that safeguards 1,300 jobs in these excellent restaurants, and provides an opportunity for these great eating-out brands to flourish again when the current pandemic is over.” Propel revealed earlier this month Individual Restaurants was undergoing an accelerated sales process, after appointing advisers to explore its options. The company, which was backed by Walker, the founder of frozen food chain Iceland, has been working with the restructuring arm of Deloitte on its options. Propel Premium intimated on Friday (20 November) a possible deal for the company could see Walker and the existing management team continue to own and operate the business under a new vehicle. The sales process does not comprise the group’s joint venture with chef Gino D’Acampo. Walker headed up a consortium that took the Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill business, which then comprised 33 sites, private in 2011. The business, which earlier this year parted company with long-term managing director Vernon Lord, currently operates 21 Piccolino sites and eight Bar & Grills across the country. Its joint venture with D’Acampo comprises eight sites. Sales in the 12 months to 30 March 2019 for Individual Restaurants declined from £61.8m to £58.4m, while group Ebitda fell from £7.1m to £6.5m. Propel understands average sites’ Ebitda across the group’s Piccolino restaurants is about £320,000, and closer to £400,000 for its Bar & Grill sites. In its group accounts filed at Companies House in October, the business stated: “As for all of us in the sector, lockdown was a painful and worrying time. Since reopening, sales and profits have exceeded our expectations. The size of our restaurants has allowed us to meet demand even with strict social distancing and dine-safe measures in place. We have limited exposure to central London, which has been the hardest hit and our affluent suburban locations have traded very well with the shift change towards home working and staycation Britain. Online continues to beat expectations. As we look to the winter with this second wave of the virus and restrictions imposed on eating out, there are challenging and uncertain times ahead. However, we are ready to weather the storm with the same resilience the business has delivered in lockdown, reopening and performance to date.” Earlier this year, the business launched its own premium collection and delivery service. It said: “The business goes from strength to strength and, with the changing consumer behaviour towards online, it will be a further focus for our growth in the future.” Post the group’s year end to 30 March 2019, the business finalised a new £36m banking facility and acquired a majority stake in Gino D’Acampo Worldwide Restaurants. In 2015, the company entered into a joint venture with the chef, to launch new restaurant brand Gino D’Acampo – My Restaurant. It is understood Walker supported the Gino D’Acampo chain with a loan that was registered earlier in October. This came after the business led by the chef posted full-year sales of £12.4m, but losses of £2.9m.