Wagamama Irish restaurants part of €400m sale
A €400m purchase of the Wagamama chain by British firm Restaurant Group will have no impact on the Irish franchise owned by Paddy McKillen Jr’s Press Up Entertainment Group.
Press Up operates three Wagamama restaurants in Dublin and will continue to do so, despite Restaurant Group buying the noodle chain for £357m (€400m).
Shares in Restaurant Group plunged more than 18% on the acquisition, a transaction it is asking shareholders to help fund.
Analysts suggest the price was perhaps on the high side and noted it will give the group more exposure to the UK’s struggling high street, which has been hit by the turndown in consumer spending.
Restaurant Group operates more than 500 restaurants and pubs which include Frankie and Benny’s, Chiquito, Coast to Coast, Garfunkel’s, Firejacks, Brunning & Price and Joe’s Kitchen.
It also operates a concession business which trades over 60 outlets in more than 30 brands, primarily in UK airports. Press Up Entertainment Group operates three Wagamama franchises at South King St, Dundrum Town Centre, and Blanchardstown Centre.
“The sale of Wagamama global to Britain’s Restaurant Group will have no implications on Irish outlets of Wagamama, each restaurant will continue to operate as normal,” a spokeswoman for Press Up said.
A spokesman for Restaurant Group confirmed there would be no change to the Irish franchise agreement.
The deal marks a shift for Restaurant Group, most of whose restaurants and gastropubs focus on American, Tex-Mex and traditional British cuisine and is expected to generate cost savings of about £22m.
Restaurant Group will launch a £315m rights issue to fund the deal, which it expects to be earnings enhancing.
The company said the deal had an enterprise value of £559m, and included 138 directly-operated restaurants in the UK and the US and 58 franchised restaurants in Europe, the Middle East, and New Zealand.
Wagamama began in 1992 in London’s Bloomsbury and has expanded steadily.
