Mayfair-backed Yo! Sushi acquires Bento for CAD 100m

According to a statement, the consolidated group will have a turnover of £175m, based on the companies' performances over the past 12 months.

As part of the deal, Bento chairperson Ken Valvur and CEO Glenn Brown will take a seat on the Yo! Sushi board and become "significant shareholders" in the group.

Prior to the deal, Yo! Sushi had seen a 5% increase in like-for-like sales over the last 18 months, according to a statement. The group opened eight new UK locations and expanded into new markets by opening sites in Manhattan, Sydney and Paris.

Yo! Sushi was the fourth deal completed by Mayfair from its maiden fund, a £400m vehicle that held its final close in September 2016. The GP acquired a controlling stake in Yo! Sushi from Quilvest Private Equity for a total consideration of £82m in November 2015. The GP bought the business from Quilvest Private Equity, which had in turn acquired it from Primary Capital and founder Simon Woodruffe in 2008.

Company
Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Toronto, Bento operates a chain of quick service restaurants, has a number of on-site kiosks in supermarkets, and distributes sushi to third party grocery stores and restaurants across North America. The business employs 2,000 sushi chefs and trades from 600 locations.

People
Mayfair Equity Partners – Daniel Sasaki (managing partner).
Yo! Sushi – Robin Rowland (CEO).
Bento Sushi – Ken Valvur (chairperson); Glenn Brown (CEO).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• Mayfair Equity Partners
• Build-up