Dinosaur-themed restaurant chain put on market for £1.3m
A Kettering-headquartered chain of dinosaur-themed restaurants has been put up for sale by its owners.
Blacks Business Brokers has been instructed to market Jurassic Alive, the operator of the Jurassic Grill chain, with a guide price of £1.3m to take over the business.
The business was founded in 2019 by Jozef Mordawska and Natalie Matts with a single site in Kettering. It now operates four restaurants, the other three being located at Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire, Whiteley, near Fareham in Hampshire and Loch Lomond in the Scottish Highlands.
All four restaurants are decorated in a prehistoric style, and menus are dinosaur-themed. The Loch Lomond venue also includes the UK’s first Ice Age-themed cocktail and dessert bar.
The Kettering restaurant is located at 1 Market Place in the town centre. It has seating for 120 diners indoors, across two storeys and a gallery area, plus a further 12 covers outside.
The Rushden Lakes and Whiteley restaurants, which respectively accommodate 110 and 214 covers divided among indoor and outdoor seating, are both based in retail parks.
The Loch Lomond branch is located within the Loch Lomond Shores Shopping Centre. It seats a total of 150 customers indoors and 84 outdoors, divided between its dinosaur and ice age-themed areas.
The business employs a total of 67 staff plus a further nine managers. The owners, who wish to exit from the business due to a change in personal circumstances, do not work in the business on a day-to-day basis.
In its most recent financial year Jurassic Alive posted turnover of £1.59m, achieving gross profit of £1.05m. Projected turnover for the financial year ending 30 November 2023 is £3.2m.
The business has recently received approaches regarding the possibility of expanding both nationally and globally by franchising the Jurassic Grill concept.
Callum Pollard, associate director at Blacks Business Brokers, said, “Over a period of just four years our clients have built a really significant business. It has a unique theme, great locations, and superb reviews online.
“The Jurassic Grill brand is just getting started and has already sparked interest that could lead to international expansion, so there is amazing potential here for a new owner, whether that be an existing hospitality group, an entrepreneur or an investor, to take these foundations and build the next big thing in casual dining. On a day-to-day basis the staff and managers are delivering an offering that is proving incredibly popular, so the opportunity here really is massive.”
