Turtle Bay founder buys back business, Jane O’Riordan steps down as chair: Ajith Jayawickrema, the founder of Turtle Bay, has bought back the Caribbean restaurant brand, from Piper, the private equity firm, which has backed the 50-strong business since 2013. Turtle Bay was founded in 2010 by Jayawickrema and Crispin Tweddell, who remains a shareholder. During Piper's investment, Turtle Bay grew from four to 50 sites. Following this transaction, Turtle Bay will see a leadership transition. Tweddell will take over the role of chair from Jane O’Riordan, who has been in the role since the start of 2019. O'Riordan said: “I am delighted to have been part of this great brand over an exciting period of growth. I remain convinced about the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to celebrating its future success.” Jayawickrema said: “Turtle Bay is a great business with a great team across its 50 sites. It has endured some real challenges and I believe it is now time for another gear change to ensure we go back to some of the original thinking from 2010, but do that in a way appropriate for 2025. I have been involved in the start of this process with the development of our site in Chelmsford and look forward to helping deliver this across the rest of our sites. I would like to thank Piper and Jane for their contributions to the business.” Chris Curry, chairman and managing partner of Piper, said: “A sale of our stake back to its founder, Ajith, seems the most appropriate route to ensure a longer term view can be taken on the brand’s continued development. I would like to wish the whole of the Turtle Bay team every success in the future.” Last month, O’Riordan said the business was looking forward with optimism and ready to begin rolling out the learnings from its new elevated dining concept, which it launched last month in Chelmsford. It came as the business had taken the decision to consolidate its existing estate, which led to the closure of three sites – Bristol Cheltenham Road, Croydon and Blackburn. Earlier this year, Nick Crossley stepped down as chief executive after four years in the role. Turtle Bay features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which features 1,108 companies. Turtle Bay's turnover of £93,657,953 for the year ending 31 March 2024 is the 129th 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.

Sheikh Tahnoon’s IHC nears deal for stake in Caring’s Ivy hospitality empire: Serial sector investor Richard Caring is in advanced talks to sell a significant portion of his UK hospitality empire – which includes The Ivy restaurants and London private members’ club Annabel’s – to an entity controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The FT reported that talks between Caring and Sheikh Tahnoon’s holding company IHC may result in a deal that could exceed more than £1bn, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A deal would mark a partial exit for Caring and would also hand the entrepreneur funding to take his hospitality brands such as the Ivy into new markets. Sources said that the exact parameters of any transaction remain in flux but are anchored around Caring’s efforts to sell a stake in Troia, the company that owns The Ivy Collection, consisting of more than 40 restaurants in the UK and Ireland. However, the talks have extended such that a deal could potentially include Caring’s other assets, such as his private members’ clubs in Mayfair — including Annabel’s, George and Harry’s Bar. Those clubs are held in an entity called Mark Birley Holdings that is co-owned by Qatari royal and former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani. The people involved stressed there was no guarantee of a deal being agreed between IHC and Caring, and highlighted the shifting nature of the discussions around price and assets. Last accounts for the Ivy Collection showed turnover grew to £314,744,000 for the year ending 31 December 2023, compared with £302,927,000 the previous year. Pre-tax profit was up from £29,046,000 to £37,695,000 while adjusted Ebitda increased from £54,787,000 to £57,584,000. IHC, the most valuable company on Abu Dhabi’s stock exchange by market capitalisation, is a conglomerate controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and a brother of president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. IHC said it “regularly engages in discussions around diverse opportunities across sectors” and that it discloses “any material developments once a transaction is confirmed”, in line with applicable regulations. Caring declined to comment.