Hospitality entrepreneur, Luke Johnson, has reportedly instructed financial services adviser Novartis to oversee the sale of Gail’s parent company Bread Holdings for £150m
Gail's is seeking to grow its store count to 200 within the next three years | Photo via Flickr
Businessman, Luke Johnson, has reportedly slated the sale of the 50-strong boutique bakery and coffee chain for 2020.
Johnson backed a management buyout of Gail’s in 2011 through investment firm Risk Capital Partners (RCP). His latest move news comes just over year after sale of Gail’s was reportedly
put on hold due to Brexit uncertainty.
Gail’s has generated strong sales in 2019 and is seeking to grow its store footprint to 200 stores within the next three years according to Managing Director Marta Pogroszewska.
Johnson has had a turbulent year in the wake of a
£40m accounting scandal at Patisserie Valerie, a company he chairs, which resulted in the chain's collapse and the loss of around 900 jobs.
The sale raises the prospect of yet
more M&A activity in the increasingly consolidated UK coffee shop market. 2018 saw the UK's largest coffee chain, Costa Coffee, was
purchased by Coca-Cola for £3.9bn, while food-to-go and coffee chain,
Pret A Manger, was acquired by German-owned conglomerate JAB Holdings.