McWin acquires majority stake in Sticks'n'Sushi, plans entry into new markets: McWin, the backer of Gail’s and Big Mamma Group, has acquired a majority stake in Sticks’n’Sushi. Founded in Denmark in 1994 by Thor Andersen, Kim Rahbek Hansen and Jens Rahbek Hansen, the company currently operates 12 restaurants in the UK, three in Germany, 12 in Denmark and three catering and delivery kitchens. The business will continue to led by Andreas Karlsson into its “next chapter of growth”. McWin said that with Sticks’n’Sushi the “fundamentals are clearly in place for further growth both in new and existing markets”. Karlsson said: “The agreement marks a new chapter for Sticks'n'Sushi. McWin agrees with the strategy we presented and shares our ambitions for the company. We will accelerate our growth in our existing markets – the UK, Denmark and Germany, but will also enter new markets over the next five years. We see many opportunities arising with markets like France and DACH being top priorities for us. Sticks'n'Sushi has expanded successfully under Maj Invest's stewardship since 2013 and McWin’s expertise in the restaurant industry makes it an ideal partner to help bring the company to the next level. Its track record in the restaurant industry speaks for itself, and it has proven time and time again that it can create healthy growth. We are constantly looking at optimising our own processes and technologies – and here we can make a lot of progress with McWin as a partner.” Henry McGovern, co-founding partner at McWin, added: “I have been following the success of Sticks'n'Sushi for the last 15 years and its consistent and confident expansion both in and outside of Denmark. We are delighted to join forces with Andreas on the next leg of growth. This brand has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see what we can achieve.” McWin’s investment is being made in partnership with Polaris Flexible Capital, led by partners Jesper Langmack and Kent Brovn Arp. Talking to Propel earlier this month, Karlsson said the group’s UK restaurants were experiencing solid like-for-like growth “both in terms of increased guest numbers as well as actual sales”. The company, which opened its latest UK site in The Bentall Centre, in Kingston-upon-Thames, last October, reported turnover of £47,874,000 in the year to 30 June 2023 (2022: £44,015,000). The company realised Ebitda of £5.6m against £8.8m the year before, and equity of £12.3m compared with £9.6m the previous year. Pre-tax profit stood at £3,874,000 (2022: £7,078,000). Karlsson told Propel the company had started its current financial year well. He said: “I’m pleased with where we are and we are tracking in line with expectations.” The business will open a restaurant on the ground floor of the building on the corner of George Street and King Street in Richmond this spring. Karlsson said: “We are working on our pipeline. Hopefully there’s one or two more to open after Richmond this calendar year. I have started to look at opportunities outside of London and the south east for the next 12 to 24 months. We are working on a strategy to explore a new city and we always look at opening more than one where we go. It’s all about seeing if when we open in a city, we can do three or four restaurants over a period of two to three years.” The acquisition by McWin marks the end of ten years of ownership of the business by Danish investment firm Maj Invest. In March last year, Propel reported Maj Invest had appointed advisors at Deloitte to assess options for a sale of its stake in the Japanese restaurant group. Sticks‘n’Sushi UK features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £47,874,000 in the year to 30 June 2023 is the 195th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. 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.