Private equity firm Bowmark Capital has agreed to sell the UK’s leading Latin American restaurant chain, Las Iguanas, to the Casual Dining Group in a deal thought to be worth around £85 million.
Casual Dining Group, the owner of the hugely successful Café Rouge brand, will acquire the brand and the 41 restaurants currently operated by Las Iguanas under the terms of the deal.
The new owner outbid a number of rivals – believed to include Ask and Zizzi Italian restaurants owner Bridgepoint Capital, Groucho Club backer Graphite and Audley Travel owner Equistone – to clinch the deal.
Although no details have yet been released regarding potential future expansion for the brand, it has been confirmed that Mos Shamel will remain in his position as chief executive. Founder Eren Ali will be stepping down from his role as executive chairman, but is confident that he is leaving the brand in safe hands.
“The business has never been stronger. It has been a privilege to work with the team at Las Iguanas and Bowmark Capital to build such a strong brand,” he said in a statement confirming the sale.
“I have every confidence in the potential of the business and look forward to seeing it flourish under its new ownership structure.”
Las Iguanas was established in Bristol in 1991 and, since then, has grown steadily to the point where it achieved a pre-tax profit of £4.9 million in the year to the end of March 2014. The only snag came during the financial crisis when, due to poor consumer appetite, it was sold to Bowmark Capital for a relatively subdued £30 million at a time when numerous struggling brands were snapped up by investors.
Bowmark Capital partner Ron Pearson expressed a belief that the brand will continue to grow in both strength and size under the new owner.
He continues; “Las Iguanas has delivered strong like for like sales growth throughout our ownership, even during the recession.
“We have worked closely with the business to achieve a truly national footprint and this success is a tribute to the quality of the management.”
