Partial MBO at Thai dining group
Sukhothai, the Leeds-based Thai casual dining group operating the Sukhothai and Zaap brands, has completed a partial MBO.
Funding from HSBC has been used to facilitate a partial-MBO from founders Gerrard Marks and Yupha (Ban) Kaewkraikhot by members of the current management team.
The transaction will see the Sukhothai management team invest in the group alongside the two founders, who will continue to remain active in the business.
The business was founded in 2002 by Marks and award-winning chef Kaewkraikhot and has grown from its debut site in Chapel Allerton to a group of four Sukhothai restaurants in Yorkshire alongside the Thai street food brand Zaap in Leeds, Nottingham, and Newcastle; as well as the York venue its is due to open next month.
Marks, CEO of Sukhothai, said: “We have amazing people here at Sukhothai and Zaap, and it’s great to give the management team the chance to play an even bigger part in the success of the business both now and in the future. We are grateful to the BDO team for their support in achieving this, they were excellent throughout and delivered a deal above our expectations”.
BDO LLP advised the management team and shareholders on its recent recapitalisation.
Marc Hutchinson, of BDO’s Northern M&A team, added: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Gerrard, Ban, and the team on this deal. The Sukhothai group continues to go from strength to strength, with Zaap representing a genuinely original and exciting new concept for restaurant-goers in the region.”
Sukhothai were advised by BDO’s M&A and Transaction Tax teams (Marc Hutchinson and Fletcher Adamowicz), and by Gordons LLP (Jonathan Asquez), with HSBC (Mark Watson) providing debt finance in support of the transaction.
