Fri 18th Nov 2022 - Exclusive: Caffè Concerto chain placed on the market Exclusive – Caffè Concerto chain placed on the market: Lux Management & Investments Group has placed its London-headquartered, European-style restaurant chain Caffè Concerto on the market, Propel has learned. It is understood FRP Corporate Finance has been appointed to oversee a sale process of Caffè Concerto, which currently has 25 sites in total – 19 in the UK and six in the Middle East. Its UK estate comprises 18 sites in London, including restaurants in Haymarket, Piccadilly, Covent Garden, Shaftesbury Avenue, Westfield London, Bond Street and Knightsbridge, plus a site in Grand Central station, Birmingham. The brand operates in high footfall locations such as tourist hotspots, shopping centres and transport hubs. Most sites are company owned but the business also has a well-established franchise model. Sites are supported by a central production facility in London. It is understood the business has no bank debt and is continuing to trade “extremely well” despite some headwinds facing the wider leisure and hospitality sector. Propel understands like-for-like revenue over recent months is well up on the same period last year and there are several new sites planned for the next 12 months both in the UK and internationally. Caffè Concerto has recently been invited to open a new site in Paris at the Louvre. Ebitda for the year to August 2022 was circa £8m from revenue of circa £30m. It is thought expansion over recent years has all been funded through reinvestment of cash generated by operations. The sale process is thought to still be at an early stage, but FRP Corporate Finance is starting to share information with selected parties that have expressed interest. The sale mandate is likely to include the international sites. Earlier this year, Caffe Concerto completed its company voluntary arrangement after one of its company directors personally borrowed £200,000 to inject as a one-off payment. The business reported turnover of £3,094,394 for the year ending 31 August 2021 versus £18,953,435 the previous year due to its sites being closed for much of the period because of the covid-19 pandemic. The business saw a pre-tax profit of £2,824,792 versus a loss of £16,961,152 the year before. Caffè Concerto features in Propel’s Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which now contains 656 companies. The Blue Book shows in its last full year before the pandemic – for the 12 months to 31 August 2019 – the business turned over £30,613,603 with a pre-tax profit of £971,099. 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.