Clapham House buys GBK ahead of schedule

Clapham House has finalised the purchase of Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) ahead of schedule after it exceeded expectations.

The restaurant group had paid £2.6m in cash for the six strong burger chain in November 2004. But "earn-out" payments tied into GBK's financial performance meant an additional £7.4m could be due after two years.

Following GBK's strong trading over the past few months, Clapham House's directors have decided to pay the full amount for the company six months early, pushing the final price paid to £10m.

Paul Campbell, chief executive of Clapham House, said: "The Gourmet Burger Kitchen business is performing strongly across its eight existing restaurants and our pipeline of new sites is developing well. I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement on the earn-out consideration early as it will enable us to accelerate expansion."

Gourmet Burger Kitchen's existing management team of Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills will continue as directors of the chain.

By Kerstin Kuhn

Get your copy of Caterer and Hotelkeeper every week - click here to subscribe and save 25%.