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Epiris acquires Casual Dining Group

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Epiris has acquired a majority of assets owned by the Casual Dining Group, including Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas.

The firm drew equity from its second-generation fund, which closed on £821m in October 2018. The GP seeks to invest around £40-150m in UK-based companies with an enterprise value ranging from £75-500m and offers co-investment opportunities between £30-100m. This is Epiris II’s seventh investment.

Epiris has committed further financial resources to The Big Table, the newco through which the acquisition has been made, to fund working capital and investment requirements.

The Big Table will focus on a smaller, more profitable estate of restaurants under the Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and Café Rouge brands. The business has been entirely funded by Epiris, with no additional third-party debt.

The Big Table is led by CEO James Spragg and CFO Adrian Walker. A non-executive chairman will be appointed in due course.

Previous funding
Apollo Global Management led a consortium of investors to take control of the restaurant chain operator, then named Tragus Holding, from Blackstone in a restructuring deal in March 2014. The consortium also included Oak Hill Capital Partners and York Capital Management. The deal saw Tragus's debt burden cut from £354m to £91m through a debt-for-equity swap.

The new owners also committed £20m in fresh capital to the business and expected to see up to £110m in new investments for Tragus's Café Rouge and Bella Italia brands over the ensuing five years.

Lenders KKR and Pemberton Asset Management agreed to a £150m debt-for-equity swap for Casual Dining Group in July 2018.

The deal allocated restaurant chain company shares to the lenders, and also included a £30m new cash injection from existing shareholders and lenders. Following the transaction, CDG saw its debt slashed by 50% to less than three times the company's core earnings.

Company
Founded in 2002 and based in London, Casual Dining Group operates restaurant chains across the UK. Its main brands are Café Rouge, Belgo, Strada and Bella Italia.

People
Epiris – Alex Fortescue (managing partner); Ian Wood (partner); Alex Wilby (investment manager); Zoe Lai (investment associate); Pablo Espinoza (investment analyst).

Advisers
Equity - Macfarlanes (legal); PwC (financial due diligence).

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