Bowmark buys Drake & Morgan

Bowmark invested via its fourth fund, which closed on £265m in January 2008. The GP earmarked additional funds to finance the company's upcoming roll-out program, which will be available to be drawn further down the line.

Bowmark had been tracking the business quite closely for the past few months, knowing that Drake & Morgan was funded by EIS backers who would eventually look to realise their investment. The vendors are however understood to have been speaking with a few other potential buyers, including both trade players and private equity houses.

Drake & Morgan was co-founded in 2008 by restaurant-focused investment partnership Imbiba. Imbiba partners John Connell, Simon Wheeler and Mark Brumby will retain a minority stake in the business alongside Drake & Morgan's managing director and management team.

Bowmark is no stranger to the UK restaurants sector, having bought Latin American food chain Las Iguanas from Piper Private Equity in 2007 for £27m.

Following the buyout, Drake & Morgan will look to grow its business from five to 70 venues. The business is almost exclusively City-focused for now, but Bowmark believes Drake & Morgan has the potential to expand significantly, within London in the short term and ultimately in other areas of the UK.

Debt
The deal was supported by a debt package from RBS Financial Sponsors. Leverage might be increased during the first three years of the holding to back the company's expansion plans.

Company
Founded in 2008, Drake & Morgan operates five restaurants and bars in London, including The Refinery in Southwark, The Parlour in Canary Wharf, The Anthologist and The Folly in the City, and The Drift in Bishopsgate.

The group currently generates revenues of £18m - sales have grown by 75% per annum over the past three years.

People
Jillian MacLean is managing director of Drake & Morgan. Ron Pearson worked on the deal for Bowmark.

Advisers
Equity - SJ Berwin, Jonathan Pittal (Legal); Geoffrey Leaver, Melissa Page (Property due diligence); BDO, Chris Grove, Peter Hemington (Corporate finance); Baker Tilly, Stephen Mason (Financial due diligence); PwC, Kevin Morris (Tax); Corporate Balance, Nigel Smith (Environmental due diligence); Javelin, Michael Fine (Commercial due diligence).
Vendor - Moore Blatch, Roger Bailey (Legal); PwC, Sean Williams (Corporate finance).
Management - Livingstone, Simon Cope-Thomson (Corporate finance); Olswang, Stephen Rosen (Legal).
Debt - Shoosmiths, Sean Wright (Legal).

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• United Kingdom
• Bowmark Capital LLP