£70m restaurant bill could generate 2x for Caird

The firm pumped around £28m into the restaurant chain, then called Conran, in 2006 to fund the management's £47m buyout, according to unquote" data. The deal enabled D&D's management, who invested new cash, to significantly increase their equity stake in the business. The vendors, Conran Holdings Ltd, retained 51% of the equity. Caird (then Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance) took 20% of the business. The debt-to-equity split was roughly 60:40.

If sold for £70m, as suggested by press reports, Caird stands to generate a return of 2x.

Since the 2006 buyout, the firm acquired the Skylon restaurant on London's Southbank. Other restaurants in the portfolio include Bluebird, Coq d'Argent and Le Pont de la Tour. EBITDA has grown modestly during the holding period from around £6m at the time of the buyout to around £7m today.

Established in 1991, D&D operates 30 restaurants. At the time of the 2006 deal, it comprised 16 London venues, two in Paris and a New York Banqueting Hall.

Ben Barker, Kostas Manolis Daniel Cavanagh and John Williams structured the deal on behalf of Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance in 2006.

Other consumer businesses in Caird's portfolio include fitness chain David Lloyd, suit retailer TM Lewin and convenience chain Martin McColl.

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• Caird Capital