Tue 25th Oct 2022 - Exclusive: Gaucho owner appoints advisors to review funding options Exclusive – Gaucho owner appoints advisors to review funding options: Rare Restaurants, the owner of Gaucho and M Restaurants, has appointed advisors to review its funding options, Propel has learned. The Martin Williams-led business, which in its last financial year posted turnover of £53m and Ebitda of £10.8m, is understood to have appointed Clearwater International to assess its options, which could include a sale of the business. Williams told Propel: “We are assessing our strategic options after a highly successful 18 months trading post pandemic. After enjoying sustained sector leading growth, we anticipate turnover for 2022 will exceed £70m.” Investec Bank and debt specialist SC Lowy acquired Gaucho as part of restructure of the business at the end of 2018. In April 2019, holding company Lomo Bidco, an entity owned by Investec and SC Lowy, acquired M Restaurants. The transaction brought together M Restaurants’ then three venues and Gaucho’s 16 restaurants. Williams set out a five-year growth plan for Rare earlier this year, which could see it opening up to 30 new sites across the UK. So far this year, it has opened a Gaucho in Glasgow and a new M site in Canary Wharf. Further Gaucho openings are lined up in Newcastle, Liverpool and Cardiff. Williams said the company, which before his time operated the now-defunct CAU brand, would not look at doing a smaller sister concept, but would look more towards how The Ivy has been successfully rolled out. He said: “We are probably 15-20% more expensive but with people looking for a more premium experience I believe there is an opportunity for Gaucho to go into more markets. We will look at further opportunities in London but also in the likes of Cardiff, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, St Albans, Cheltenham, Belfast and Dublin.” Gaucho features in Propel’s Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which now contains 638 companies. Its turnover of £53m places it 95th in the list. Parent company Lomo Bidco reported a pre-tax profit of £690,000 for the year ending 2 January 2022 compared with a loss of £11.5m the previous year. Operating profit was £3,731,000. The Blue Book, which is produced in association with Mapal Group and is updated monthly, provides a five-year overview of turnover and profit, ranks companies according to turnover, pre-tax profit and profit conversion. The Blue Book also provides details of directors’ earnings and highest paid directors. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.