Graphite tucks into Hawksmoor

Alice Murray
26 July 2013

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Graphite Capital has succeeded in its bid to acquire Hawksmoor, supporting the high-end steak restaurant group's management buyout.

It is believed that the deal was valued at between £35-40m. Debt for the transaction was provided by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Acquisition Finance.

The investment came from Graphite's current fund, Graphite Capital Partners VII, a £585m vehicle raised in 2007 that targets transactions with enterprise values of between £25-150m.

The deal marks Graphite's third investment in the restaurant sector, having previously backed Wagamama in its early stages of development, and more recently Rex Restaurants, owner of The Wolesley, The Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel and Colbert in London.

Company
Hawksmoor was set up by Will Beckett and Huw Gott, opening their first restaurant in Spitalfields in 2006. The second site was launched in 2010 at Seven Dials in Covent Garden. In 2011, the company expanded into Guildhall in the City. The latest Hawksmoor restaurant was opened in late-2012 in Air Street, just off Regent Street.

Hawksmoor is a British steakhouse specialising in high-quality beef and strong customer service. In 2012 the group recorded revenues of £18m.

People
As part of the deal, Karen Jones, a non-executive director at Rex, joined Hawksmoor as chairman. Graphite senior partners Markus Golser and Mike Innes, investment director Omar Kayat and investment manager Simon May all managed the investment for the GP.

Advisers
Equity – Macfarlanes, Ian Martin, Howard Corney, Adam Levine (Legal); Olswang, David Roberts, Gordon Ker (Legal); CMS, Peter Crichton, Tom Siggers (Legal); Pragma, Tom Holt, Christopher Sampson (Commercial due diligence); BDO, Chris Grove, Derek Neil, Conor Lambert (Financial due diligence); Gallagher Heath, George Minoprio (Insurance due diligence); Intuitus, Iain Mackay, Adrian Astley-Jones (IT due diligence).