La Tasca plans £50m AIM flotation

Tapas chain La Tasca is poised to go public, through a £50m-plus listing on the London Stock Exchange in the next couple of months.

The 47-strong chain is set to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the stock market for smaller and medium-sized companies.

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An AIM-listing is one option being considered to allow Penta Capital, La Tasca's private equity backer, to exit its investment. Money raised from a flotation would also be ploughed back into the business to fund a substantial expansion programme and to repay existing debt. The chain is aiming to open 10 restaurants a year and already has eight sites signed up. In the autumn La Tasca opened its first La Viña sister restaurant, in Manchester. There also ambitious plans to expand this, with six sites to be up and running by the end of April next year. La Tasca, owned by Restaurant People Group, was founded in Manchester in 1993 and is headed by chief executive James Horler, who used to run the Frankie & Benny's chain. by Nic Paton Buy this week's *Caterer* magazine for more industry news and analysis