My Kinda Town to go public

BOB Payton's My Kinda Town restaurant group is poised to go public on May 4 at a value of about ú24m.

The group, launched in 1977, has 29 restaurants worldwide, with 12 in the UK, including chains such as Chicago Rib Shack, Chicago Pizza Pie Factory and Henry J Bean's.

Impending openings include Buenos Aires in a week's time, Bangkok later this year, and Beirut, for which a deal has just been finalised.

Profits are believed to be running at more than ú2m and for the year to June 1995 city sources are predicting a ú3m profit on ú25m turnover.

Peter Joseph, an investment analyst specialising in the leisure industry with Peel, Hunt and Company, confirmed reports valuing the group at around ú24m, and said he believed the group was well placed to continue doing good business.

"Restaurants like these attract a lot of tourist business, so with the upswing in tourism and the economy they are well positioned right now," Mr Joseph told Caterer.

My Kinda Town is being taken public by merchant banker Hill Samuel and broker Credit Lyonnais Laing, with further help from Luke Johnson and Hugh Osmond, who floated PizzaExpress.

The flotation is a personal triumph for Bob Payton, who began the business to a chorus of misplaced cynicism from critics who said nobody could persuade the British to don plastic bibs in order to eat spare ribs. Evidently they were wrong.

lDUTCH group Gioma last week increased its presence in London with the opening of an Argentinian restaurant, the Gaucho Grill.

The 126-seat grill and bar opened beneath Down Mexico Way, also owned by Gioma. It is the latest addition for the group, which already has two Calzone pizza bars in the capital, as well as 36 outlets on the Continent.

Gioma expects weekly takings to be in the region of ú15,000 at the ú20-a-head outlet.