Barburrito swallows Scottish rival
BARBURRITO, the Manchester-based casual dining company, has swallowed a rival business in a major strategic step.
The business, backed by the Business Growth Fund, has acquired a five-strong Scottish-based chain Pinto Mexican Kitchen, for an undisclosed sum.
Co-founder and chief executive Morgan Davies told TheBusinessDesk.com the deal would be “transformational” for the business, which he said now has annual sales of £13m and 17 restaurants, and is “the strongest operator in the sector outside London.”
Pinto Mexican Kitchen’s sites are all positioned in high footfall locations in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The operation, which has 70 employees, will be rebranded as Barburrito over the next six months.
The deal acquisition gives Barburrito a key strategic platform for further growth in Scotland, Davies added.
Barburrito is backed by growth capital provider BGF, which has provided a total investment of £11.35m to the business since March 2012. The total funding to date covers the business’s existing estate of 12 restaurants, supports Barburrito’s expansion plans, including the acquisition of Pinto and the continued roll-out of its restaurants across the UK with plans to increase the number of sites Barburrito operates to 25 over the next 18 months.
Davies, added: “Having grown up in Scotland, I am personally delighted that we are expanding here. We are serious about establishing Barburrito as a UK wide operation and this key acquisition in Scotland, affirms our position as the leading burrito bar operator outside of London. As the UK’s first burrito bar we are now proud to be operating 17 restaurants across eight major cities”.
