Domino’s Pizza among bidders for Wingstop UK: Domino’s Pizza is one of four bidders circling Wingstop UK, which is being rolled out here by Lemon Pepper Holdings. As previously revealed by Propel, Domino’s is competing against US private equity group KKR – the backer of PureGym, which is Britain’s biggest health and fitness club operator – for the UK operation of Wingstop, which will have 57 sites by the end of this year, with ambitions to reach 200 within the next five years. The FT reported that Sixth Street, the US investment group that also owns the American Wingstop franchisee Far West Services, and TSG Consumer Partners are the other bidders. It is reported that Wingstop UK could be valued at up to £400m. Wingstop would be only the second brand for Domino’s. The company told investors a year ago that, as well as pursuing growth in its pizza business, it was looking for a brand that has a “significant growth runway” and “synergies with [Domino’] assets”. This summer, Wingstop hired Goldman Sachs to find new investors in response to unsolicited expressions of interest from potential buyers. Further sites in Aberdeen, Cheltenham, Swansea, Peterborough and Norwich are being lined up for openings next year. In October, Michael Skipworth, president and chief executive of the global Wingstop business, said that average unit volumes for its business in the UK were exceeding $3m (£2.3m). Wingstop’s first UK site opened at Cambridge Circus in Central London after Tom Grogan, Saul Lewin, and Herman Sahota persuaded the brand's American owner to sign a deal with them, despite their lack of restaurant industry experience. The American company also owns 20% of the UK operation. In July, Wingstop was named one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK for the second year in a row. It came 38th in the Sunday Times’ guide – and was again the fastest-growing restaurant operator. Wingstop UK saw revenue grow 121.95% in the past 12 months to reach £84.4m. Earlier this year, KKR acquired Superstruct Entertainment, which owns and operates more than 80 music festivals across ten countries in Europe and Australia, for a reported £1.1bn. KKR was also previously a backer of the Casual Dining Group, the then Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas operator. Wingstop features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the latest edition of which will be sent exclusively to Premium Club members on Friday (13 December) at 12pm and will feature 1,039 companies. Wingstop’s turnover of £38,181,049 for the year to 26 March 2022 is the 276th highest in the database. Domino’s features in the UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database, the latest edition of which will be sent to Premium Club members tomorrow (Wednesday, 11 December), featuring 50 new entries. 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.

Robin Hutson’s Lime Wood Group grows revenue but profit is halved: Lime Wood Group, which operates two hotels in the New Forest in Hampshire as well as a hotel and chalets near Courchevel in France and is owned by Pig Hotels founder Robin Hutson, grew its revenue in the year to 31 December 2023 but saw its profit more than halved. The company’s turnover rose from £17,449,670 in 2022 to £17,549,454. Of this, £8,302,148 came from hotel accommodation (2022: £8,217,197), £5,630,370 from food and drink sales (2022: £5,618,279) and £3,616,936 from spa sales (2022: £3,199,699). In addition, the 2022 turnover included £414,495 from hosting the Smoked & Uncut Festival, which was not held this year. Further analysis shows £14,009,075 of the company’s income came from within the UK (2022: £14,389,472) and £3,540,379 from Europe (2022: £3,060,198). The company’s pre-tax profit dropped from £768,928 in 2022 to £311,855. The company received no government grants (2022: £59,797). Director Kenneth Spiers said: “In general, 2024 was a tough operating year, with periods of positive trading and growth over prior year. However, there were challenging months where business levels declined compared to prior year. Operating costs continue to come under significant stress due to continued inflationary pressures, resulting in less profit conversion from revenue generated. As a result, Lime Wood Group grew sales over the prior year, however Ebitda contracted. While the availability of labour has improved when compared with previous years, and staff retention remained strong, the main challenge for the business comes from the lack of availability of experienced staff, plus increasing wage costs from minimum wage increases and associated wage inflation arising as a result. While general recruitment has started to stabilise, upskilling and employee development initiatives remain key to continuing to attract and retain the talent.”