Private equity firm Livingbridge has snapped up contract caterer and restaurant operator Rhubarb in a deal which values the business at an estimated £70m to £75m.
The midmarket private equity house has acquired the stake in Rhubarb owned by ECI Partners, which invested £12m in 2012, which valued the caterer at about £30m. ECI said as it exited the business that it trebled the initial investment.
Originally established in 1996 as an events business, Rhubarb expanded its activities in 2003 to include the operation of lease and concession contracts at iconic, high footfall locations such as Ascot.
The portfolio now includes Saatchi Gallery, The Pilot’s Bar at Heathrow Terminal 5, London City Airport and Henley. It has also won contracts to operate the restaurants and bars in Sky Garden at the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building in London, as well as at the Royal Albert Hall.
Rhubarb CEO Pieter-Bas Jacobse said: “We are ideally positioned to benefit from positive market trends and current consumer tastes and, with a good level of visibility over our existing contracts, as well as a strong pipeline of new growth opportunities, we are confident of building on the strong momentum we have generated to date.”
The deal is the first investment from Livingbridge’s new £660m fund and will help Rhubarb continue to grow across the UK and internationally, with the overall aim of doubling in size in the next four years.
Livingbridge backed a MBO at Thomas J Fudge’s Remarkable Bakery earlier this year.
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