PizzaExpress will not make offer for Wagamama owner TRG ‘due to market conditions’: The owner of PizzaExpress has said it will not make an offer for Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group. Last month Wheel Topco, the owner of PizzaExpress Group, asked for diligence information on TRG in accordance with rule 21.3 of the Takeover Code to enable Wheel Topco to evaluate a possible offer for the company. But in a statement, Wheel Topco said: “Wheel Topco confirms that, due to market conditions, it does not intend to make an offer for TRG.” Last month, TRG agreed to be bought by Apollo Global Management for just over £500m. PizzaExpress is controlled by a group of debt funds including Bain Capital Credit and Cyrus Capital Partners, which took ownership in 2020. Prior to that, it was owned by China’s Hony Capital. Allan Leighton, PizzaExpress’ chairman, previously chaired Wagamama during its ownership by the private equity firm Duke Street, and engineered its sale to TRG in 2018. He then spent a brief period on TRG’s board. Under the terms of Apollo’s 65p-a-share offer, a rival bid would need to be at least 10% richer for irrevocable shareholder undertakings to lapse. Oasis Management, an activist hedge fund which had pressed for boardroom and strategic changes at TRG for months, has said it will vote its near-18% stake in favour of the deal. Last month, TRG completed the sale of its leisure division, which includes Chiquito’s and Frankie & Benny’s, to The Big Table Group, which is backed by the buyout firm Epiris and includes Banana Tree, Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge and Las Iguanas in its portfolio. It is unclear whether Andy Hornby, TRG’s chief executive, would remain in place under Apollo’s ownership.
Next Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book shows sector companies’ profit outstripping losses by £1.82bn, up from £1.48bn last month: The next edition of the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which will be sent to Premium subscribers on Friday (10 November), shows the profit being made by sector companies is now outstripping losses by £1.82bn. The Blue Book shows the total profit of the 789 companies in the list is £3,754,189,462 and losses are £1,935,831,027. Last month, the Blue Book showed sector companies’ profit outstripping losses by £1.48bn. The Blue Book shows 536 companies in profit and 253 reporting losses. The Blue Book is updated each month and ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Meanwhile, for the first time, Propel group editor Mark Wingett has chosen the best videos from the Propel conferences in 2023, picking out a selection of talks and interviews that resonated with delegates from across the breadth of the hospitality sector. The 12 videos will be made available to Propel’s Premium subscribers at 9am on Friday, 24 November. Premium subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the
Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate; the
New Openings Database; the
UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the
Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage; and the
UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers.
Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers are also being given exclusive access to the recording and slides to Propel Multi-Club Conferences. They also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Mark Wingett.
SSP Group appoints new chief people officer: SSP Group, the operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, has appointed Ann-marie Murphy as its new chief people officer. Murphy joins from gym operator, The Gym Group, and will leave the business in early 2024. John Treharne, chair of The Gym Group, said: “I’d like to thank Ann-marie for her years of service to the business. She has ensured that The Gym Group has an incredibly strong operational team and is also a great place to work. We are very proud to have been recognised with two Investors in People awards including gold accreditation. She will leave us in the knowledge that we are on track with our plans as we move towards the next chapter of The Gym Group’s development.”
