D&D London appoints advisers after exit of longstanding investor

Restaurant group D&D London has hired advisers to seek further funding for the business after the exit of one of its longstanding investors.

Private equity firm LDC, which bought a majority stake in the restaurant group in 2013 for a reported £50m, has left the business after 10 years.

It has transferred shareholder control to fund manager Beechbrook Capital, which D&D said had been "committed investors" since 2017.

D&D, which operates around 40 restaurants in the UK and overseas, said Beechbrook was "aligned with management and committed to the business" but it wanted to scope out external opportunities to raise more finance.

It has appointed advisers at Interpath Advisory to "sound out" the market to seek further investment.

"We see this as a highly positive move to support the business, investing further in our sites and looking for further investment opportunities to grow the business," D&D said in a statement.

The move comes after D&D closed four of its restaurants in London, Leeds and Bristol in January.

Co-founder Des Gunewardena left the business in 2022 after 16 years "to pursue other ventures", with co-founder David Loewi taking over as chief executive.

Sky News reported last April that Interpath Advisory had been appointed to launch a sale process for D&D London, which is estimated to be worth around £100m.

David Loewi, chief executive of D&D, added: "The UK hospitality business has been through a tough period with continuing industrial action, the wettest spring in 40 years according to the BBC, food, drink and utility inflation, and the Ukraine war ... but we have also seen as soon as the sun shines a 30% turnover upside in our numbers, with our terraces packed, exceeding our forecasts. So, we are very optimistic about the future."

D&D was founded in 2006 and its sites include Bluebird and Launceston Place in London, 20 Stories in Manchester (pictured) and Orelle in Birmingham.