The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2016–2020
GBK was bought for $143M — four years later it went into administration
Famous Brands paid $143M for the burger chain in 2016; by October 2020 GBK was sold in a pre-pack administration, 26 restaurants and 362 jobs gone.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen · Famous Brands · 2020-10
What happened
Gourmet Burger Kitchen was founded in Battersea, London in 2001 by three New Zealanders, with a menu developed by chef Peter Gordon, and grew to around 60 restaurants with franchises in Ireland, Dubai, Greece and Oman. Owners came and went — Clapham House Group, then Capricorn Ventures — until September 2016, when South Africa's Famous Brands paid US$143.3 million for the chain.
The bill arrived quickly. GBK reported a £47 million loss in October 2018 amid falling sales and went into a Company Voluntary Arrangement the following month to cut its estate. Then lockdown hit a sit-down chain with nothing left to give. Deloitte's Gavin Maher, joint administrator: 'the broader challenges facing bricks and mortar operators, combined with the effect of the lockdown, resulted in a deterioration in financial performance and a material funding requirement.'
On 14 October 2020 the chain was sold in a pre-pack rescue to Ranjit Singh Boparan's Boparan Restaurant Group, owner of Giraffe: 35 sites and 669 jobs saved, 26 restaurants closed and 362 jobs cut. Famous Brands' $143 million stake ended in a fire-sale signature; the chain that once ran 60 restaurants now runs about ten.
Why it happened
- Famous Brands bought at the top of the casual-dining cycle: $143M for a high-street chain just as rents and footfall turned against it.
- The CVA bought time, not a model: closing stores cut costs without fixing the falling traffic.
- Lockdown removed the revenue outright — a sit-down format with a 'material funding requirement' had months, not years.
The lesson
Famous Brands paid $143M for GBK at the top of the casual dining cycle; four years on, a CVA, a lockdown and a pre-pack left 35 rescued stores. A restaurant group's price is its footfall.
Aftermath
GBK survives as a subsidiary of Boparan Restaurant Group with around ten restaurants. Famous Brands wrote off the acquisition as one of the UK casual dining sector's costliest entries.
Sources
- BBC News, 14 October 2020 — Gourmet Burger Kitchen rescued by Giraffe owner (bought out of administration by Boparan Restaurant Group; deal includes 35 sites and 669 jobs; 26 restaurants and 362 jobs lost; previous owner Famous Brands of South Africa; CVA in November 2018; administrator Deloitte, Gavin Maher: broader challenges facing bricks-and-mortar operators combined with lockdown caused deterioration and a material funding requirement)
- Reuters, 14 October 2020 — Famous Brand's UK burger chain GBK sold in pre-pack deal to Boparan (Boparan Restaurant Group took over GBK in a rescue deal saving 35 restaurants and 669 jobs, administrator Deloitte said; Famous Brands was the seller)
- Wikipedia — Gourmet Burger Kitchen (founded 2001 in Battersea by New Zealanders Adam Wills, Greg Driscoll and Brandon Allen, menu by chef Peter Gordon; grew to 60 restaurants; Famous Brands acquired it for US$143.3M in September 2016; £47M loss reported October 2018; October 2020 pre-pack to Boparan closed 26 restaurants and cut 362 jobs; now around ten UK locations)
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