7th Aug 2007 12:15
Greene King PLC07 August 2007 7 August 2007 GREENE KING plc ACQUISITION OF LOCH FYNE RESTAURANTS Greene King is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement to acquire LochFyne Restaurants from its shareholders for £68.1 million in cash. Loch Fyne Restaurants is an established and successful premium brand in thecasual dining sector. It has a chain of 36 seafood restaurants nationwide with aconcentration in Southeast England. It operates a proven food concept whichwill help to develop Greene King's existing offer and deliver immediate entryinto the premium branded food segment. A number of its restaurants alreadytrade in former pubs. Loch Fyne has a strong development pipeline and plans toincrease the number of outlets by around 20% within this financial year. Overthe medium term Greene King sees potential to double the number of existingsites, including the conversion of a number of Greene King pubs. Seniormanagement have committed to staying with the chain to facilitate its ongoinggrowth within the Greene King group. In the twelve months to June 2008, Loch Fyne's pre-overhead EBITDA is projectedto be in excess of £10m, and its post-overhead EBITDA in excess of £8m. Theacquisition will be financed from existing debt facilities and is expected to beearnings-enhancing in the first full year of ownership. Commenting on the transaction, Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King,said, '"Loch Fyne is a high quality, well-respected British restaurant brand whichgives us greater access to the premium end of the market and brings to ourbusiness further operational expertise. We have a strong track record ofmaximising the benefits from our acquisitions and this will be no exception: wegreatly look forward to welcoming our new colleagues on board." Mark Derry, chief executive of Loch Fyne Restaurants, added, "The tie-up with Greene King is an excellent development for Loch Fyne. It givesus the opportunity to capitalise on our already strong reputation and toaccelerate the expansion of our business. We're delighted to have found a buyerwho recognises our strengths and whose style of management fits so well with ourown. We believe our customers and employees will have every reason to celebratethe agreement." For further information: Greene King plc Rooney Anand, Chief Executive Tel: 01284 763222Financial Dynamics Ben Foster Tel: 020 7831 3113 Notes to editors: Background information on Loch Fyne: Following the founding of Loch Fyne Oysters in 1977 on the banks of Loch Fyne,the Group opened two restaurants in England in the early 1990s to introduce LochFyne products to a wider audience. The success of these two concepts led to theGroup approaching Mark Derry, current CEO, and Ian Glyn to develop therestaurant business further. Due to the successful development of the restaurant business, Loch FyneRestaurants was spun out of its sister company, Loch Fyne Oysters, in 1998. Therestaurant company grew to 26 outlets by July 2006, and to 36 outlets by July2007. The restaurants are situated across the UK, and serve over 1 millioncustomers a year. Loch Fyne's menu is based largely on fresh seafood with much of the producesupplied by Loch Fyne Oysters. This guarantees the company a reliable and highquality supply source. Some products are produced from start to finish at LochFyne Oysters in Cairndow (fresh mussels, for example); some are sourced fromother Scottish locations and are then smoked or cured at Cairndow (smokedsalmon, smoked trout). In October 2005 the company was bought out of an EIS scheme by management backedby Hutton Collins for £33m. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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