El Vino to expand after buyout deal

El Vino, the London wine bar run by the same family since 1879, wants to open more branches following a buyout deal of more than £7m.

The transaction involved one half of the Mitchell family buying out the other half for more than twice the company's annual turnover of £3.2m. It was financed by the sale of the freeholds for both the Fleet Street and Martin Lane branches in London to property companies and then immediately leasing them back for 35 years. It leaves El Vino as a purely wine bar and wine merchant company owning none of the buildings in which it operates.

Anthony Mitchell, managing director of El Vino, said that one reason the buyout had become necessary was that different members of the family had disagreed on how changes should be introduced to the ultra-traditional wine bar.

He said: "There were even disputes over things like whether we should introduce bean-to-cup coffee machines. I had to argue for two years to get those introduced. It was a constant battle to introduce new things.

"The old-fashioned interiors are fine, that's part of the quirki-ness of El Vino," he added. "But grotty toilets and poor food are not acceptable."

New staff are helping to push through changes, but like everybody else, Mitchell admits it is hard to find good chefs. "There are a lot of over-priced prima donnas out there," he said.

Mitchell added that he wants to start opening new branches in about 18 months, after the business has "stabilised".

by David Harris