Ego gets a Rocket and turns 3Sixty

EGO Restaurants, the Bolton-based Medditerrenean restaurant chain sold by private equity firm LDC six months ago, has merged with London-based Rocket Restaurants to form a new company, 3Sixty Restaurants.

Ego’s new owner, Pizza Express co-founder Luke Johnson, said that the combined business would have sales of more than £12m a year.

He takes over as chairman of the new company, while Ego boss James Horler – a former chief executive of Bolton-based La Tasca Restaurants, becomes its chief executive.

Ego has eight restaurants in the North and Midlands following the recent closure of sites in Manchester and Leeds. Rocket currently has three sites in London.

Johnson said that combining the businesses “makes commercial sense for all shareholders and is the start of us creating a much bigger business with a number of brands that operate in different trading environments”.

“It is also a delight to be back in the pizza market with a brand like Rocket that does it extremely well and has a very loyal customer base.”

Horler added: “This is a significant move for both businesses and I am very much looking forward to working with the management teams of both Ego and Rocket to create an exciting business that can deliver some considerable returns over the forthcoming years.”