Hospitality entrepreneur Luke Johnson set to sell cafe chain Gail’s

Hospitality entrepreneur Luke Johnson set to sell upmarket cafe chain Gail’s after defying the pandemic gloom

Hospitality entrepreneur Luke Johnson hopes upmarket cafe chain Gail’s will command a price of up to £250m

One of Britain’s best-known hospitality entrepreneurs is preparing to sell Gail’s after strong sales in the pandemic.

Luke Johnson, who made his name growing Pizza Express in the 1990s, hopes the upmarket cafe chain will command a price of up to £250million.

While many hospitality businesses suffered in the pandemic, Gail’s 68 cafes drew big queues. 

It plans another 30 sites in the next three years. Johnson’s private equity vehicle, Risk Capital Partners, confirmed Sky News’ report that it had asked Nomura bankers to review options. 

It expects the chain to break profit records in the current financial year.

In the year to February 2020, Gail’s parent company, Bread Holdings, which includes its bakeries, increased profits by 53 per cent to £2.3million, from £116.4million of sales.

The cafe business increased turnover by 28 per cent to £61million.

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