The Restaurant Group to buy Living Ventures

The Restaurant Group (TRG) has confirmed it is in negotiations to buy a controlling stake in Living Ventures, the bar and restaurant group owned by founders Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts.

It is expected that TRG will take a controlling 55% stake in the company, including a 30% stake currently held by private equity firm Bowmark Capital.

Bacon and Roberts will hold the rest of the shares in the company, which they will continue to run as a separate entity from TRG.

In a back-to-back deal, TRG will also sell its 19 struggling Est Est Est sites to Living Ventures. The deal is said to value Living Ventures at £30m, including £9m of debt.

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	There are 11 Living Rooms in the UK

The company opened its first Living Room bar and restaurant in Manchester in 1999. Today there are 11 Living Rooms, including one in Islington, London. Four other Living Rooms are due to open this year, including two more outlets in London as well as sites in Oxford and Cambridge. The group also includes two Prohibition cocktail bars, two eateries called the Bar & Grill and two Mosquito bars, in Liverpool and Leeds. Neither TRG or Living Ventures would comment further. by James Garner  Buy this week's *Caterer* magazine for more industry news and analysis