WSH acquires Genuine Dining as Luke Johnson exits business: WSH Group, the parent company of BaxterStorey and Benugo, has acquired catering company Genuine Dining with sector investor Luke Johnson exiting the business. Genuine Dining offers a range of services including events and contract catering and also has its own coffee brand, JAAQ Coffee. WSH executive director Noel Mahony said: “WSH has a proven track record of investing in and growing successful businesses in our industry. We’re pleased to announce a new partnership and welcome Genuine Dining to the WSH family. An entrepreneurial business that has grown to offer a variety of hospitality services and brands, Genuine Dining shares our values of championing fresh, seasonal, local food, served by brilliant teams. WSH businesses work autonomously, with independent leadership and it will be business as usual for Genuine Dining, which will continue to operate under its own independent structure with Chris Mitchell continuing to lead the business as chief executive. Tim Axe, Amanda Kay, Paul Robottom and Ruth Lawton-Owen will continue as managing directors of their respective businesses. The partnership will give Genuine Dining teams the opportunity to grow and develop through our industry-leading, shared training and development programmes.” Mitchell added: “Partnering with WSH is an exciting moment for Genuine Dining. In 14 years we have grown significantly, introducing new services, and to meet our future ambitions, it was important we selected a partner who lives and breathes our values and champions our individuality. Chairman and majority shareholder, Luke Johnson, working through Risk Capital Partners, is realising his investment and exiting the business, following 14 years of active involvement with Genuine Dining. Luke has been a huge supporter of our business, and we thank him for his time as chairman. More than simply an investor, we made the decision to partner with WSH because of its commitment to the industry, supporting and enabling businesses to grow. I am very excited about the opportunity this partnership will bring to our people and business.” Johnson, who provided funding to enable Mitchell to complete a management buyout from existing directors in 2011, said: “We are immensely proud of the achievements of Genuine Dining since we first became involved, and grateful to Chris and his team for their outstanding efforts in expanding the business. I’m excited to see the next phase of the businesses growth through the support of likeminded business, WSH.” Latest accounts show Genuine Dining returned to profit in the year to 28 September 2023 as its turnover grew by more than a third. Group turnover was up 38% from £26,905,623 in 2022 to £37,117,815. Of this, £33,387,788 came from contract catering (2022: £23,179,782), £3,090,986 from events catering (2022: £1,791,112) and £639,041 from reception services (2022: nil). The group’s pre-tax loss of £600,549 in 2022 turned into a profit of £1,411,659. Genuine Dining features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which features 978 companies. Genuine Dining’s turnover of £37,117,815 is the 268th 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 Premium Club 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.

Cineworld creditors approve UK restructuring plan: Cineworld creditors have approved a controversial restructuring plan to slash or cancel rents in a bid to save the company’s UK business, which entered administration last year. The company, which operates 101 cinemas in the UK, on Friday informed creditors, including landlords and lenders, that an agreement had been reached, according to two people familiar with the matter, reports the FT. A vote on the proposal took place earlier this week. The approval marks a step forward in Cineworld’s restructuring plan but still requires approval by a court. A sanction hearing will take place on Thursday (26 September) when a judge will decide on whether creditors will be left better off than if Cineworld were to become insolvent. Cineworld did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AlixPartners, who were acting as an adviser for the process, declined to comment. Cineworld expanded as the cinema empire developed by the Greidinger family grew through a series of acquisitions, including Cinema City in 2014 and US-based Regal Cinemas four years later. However, the pressures of the pandemic quickly turned its $8.8bn in debt and lease liability into a burden, prompting it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in 2022. Cineworld delisted from the London Stock Exchange last year after its share price collapsed and was taken over by its lenders through a debt-for-equity swap. Cineworld had warned that should the plan not be approved it would be unable to make payments, including its quarterly rent and insurance of £19.1m, due this month, and would be likely to have no choice but to file for another administration. The company argued that a “significant” number of its UK leases are currently set at a higher rate than the actual market level. Cineworld had requested that 33 sites have reductions in their rents, with the new amount being calculated in line with current market value, while ten sites should pay rent of around 50p for every ticket sold, according to the restructuring proposal. Six sites would only be financially viable if they paid no rent, the plan’s documents said. They proposed that Cineworld’s parent company invest £16m to fund Cineworld’s immediate liquidity needs, with plans of further funding of up to £35m for refurbishment. Cineworld has already announced it will close six cinemas. The restructuring document named The Crown Estate and British Land as being among Cineworld’s landlords. The Crown Estate declined to comment. British Land did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some landlords opposed the plan. One landlord, which declined to be named, argued ahead of the vote that the terms were unfair and would allow lenders to take cash funded by landlords.