Caravan team complete management buyout

All-day dining and speciality coffee chain Caravan has completed a management buyout, resulting in private equity firm Active Partners exiting the business.

The management team, led by chief executive Laura Harper-Hinton and co-founders Chris Ammermann and Miles Kirby now fully own and control the business once more.

Caravan, which was founded in 2009, took on Active Partners as a minority stakeholder in 2017 when the business had four sites.

The chain now operates nine all-day dining restaurants, three brew bars and a coffee roastery in North London.

Its first opening outside London was in Manchester last year, and the brand has further expansion planned for 2025.

Harper-Hinton said: "We’ve had a great journey with Active Partners as a minority investor, and now it’s time to push forward with our strategic vision and direction. We’ll continue to grow the brand and business in line with our values, and have exciting plans for the future.”

HSBC has supported the business in refinancing for the buyout and provided additional funding for its growth. Caravan also runs a coffee roasting business which sees brand partnerships in retail, D2C and B2B channels.

“We hugely value our longstanding relationship with HSBC, their backing has been invaluable in allowing us to expand and evolve,” added Harper-Hinton.

“Despite the current challenges in hospitality and beyond, we’re excited about the future - we have a fantastic management team and hope to continue to invest in our people and carefully and sustainably grow a great hospitality business that focuses on the customer experience and doing things the right way.”