Tastecard group gobbled up by private equity firm
THE Huddersfield-based owners of restaurant discount club Tastecard have been snapped up by private equity house Bridgepoint Development Capital.
The deal, which involved both Tastecard and the Gourmet Society, was undisclosed but it has been reported that the brands could have been bought for up to £100m.
Dutch gift card group DIDX were the previous owners of the estimated £12m turnover firm, which was advised by the Leeds office of Grant Thornton during the sale process.
Collectively, the dining clubs offer discounts to members at more than 10,000 restaurants across the UK for an annual membership fee. Restaurants under the scheme include Zizzi, Prezzo, La Tasca, and Pizza Express, as well as Marco Pierre White.
Founded by Matt Turner in 2005, Tastecard now has three million members and works with more than 6,000 independent restaurants. The Gourmet Society has around 1m members in the UK.
Matt Turner, chief executive of tastecard and the Gourmet Society, said: “We have built a strong business over the last decade which has drawn interest from a number of potential investment partners.
“Bridgepoint’s reputation, belief in the business and track record with consumer brands convinced us that they are the right partner to support us through the next exciting phase of our growth.”
Alan Payne, partner of Bridgepoint Development Capital, which also own restaurant chain Zizzi, added: ‘Discounted dining is now an established feature of the growing eating out market, a sector that is being increasingly driven by the technology needs of the consumer.
“With our support, we are confident that tastecard and the Gourmet Society will grow their member and restaurant numbers, broaden their geographic coverage and extend their technological capability.”
The management of tastecard and the Gourmet Society were advised by Grant Thornton on their acquisition by Bridgepoint.
A team from Grant Thornton’s Leeds office headed by Richard Goldsack provided corporate finance and tax advice to the management of the two dining clubs. Brabners provided legal support.
Debt was provided by ICG and RBS. Advisers involved in this transaction included Rothschild, Deloitte, Travers SMith and OC&C for Bridgepoint.
