Charterhouse Leisure seeks secondary buyout for Coal Bar and Grill

Charterhouse Leisure, which trades as Coal Bar and Grill, has appointed BDO to secure funding for a secondary buyout and accelerated growth plans, following a successful year in which sales rose 21% to £10.2m.

The company, which operates 10 sites across the UK, said that restaurant EBITDA was up 17% to £1.6m and company EBITDA had increased 15% to £814,000 for the year ended February 2015.

Founded and led by John Gater, the business has been supported by Beringea VCT and Octopus Investments since 2007. The two private equity firms are understood to be working with Charterhouse and BDO on new funding.

Gater said: "The business had a very good year with positive year-on-year sales growth for the existing estate.

"We opened four new restaurants in the year and are keen to secure new funding now in order to accelerate the growth of the business to 30 trading units over the next four years."

Kieran Lawton of BDO has been appointed by the board to lead the process. He said: "Businesses like Charterhouse Leisure take time to develop and evolve. Both private equity partners have been very supportive and it is a perfect time for a new financial structure to be put in place to take the company onto its next stage of growth."

Stuart Veale, managing partner at Beringea VCT, said: "We have supported the business since 2007 and feel it is the right time for us to exit and for the company to explore new avenues of funding that enable it to accelerate the growth of the brand."

Rebecca Hunt of Octopus Investments added: "We have been invested in Charterhouse Leisure for six years and believe that it is the right time for John to lead a secondary buyout and we offer him all the support to achieve this goal."

Charterhouse Leisure plans 18 new Coal Bar and Grill sites >>Is it time for a change? See all the current contract catering vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs >>
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