The investment firm’s owners Henry McGovern and Steven Winegar already hold shares in Gail’s via their EBITDA Investment business, which partnered with Bain Capital Credit to take a £200m controlling stake in the boutique café chain in September 2021
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Gail’s High Street Kensington store in London | Photo credit: The Blowup
London-based foodservice investment firm McWin Capital Partners is reportedly in talks to acquire UK boutique bakery-café group Gail’s from parent company, Bread Holdings.
In November 2024, Sky News reported that Bread Holdings had appointed New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs to auction a sale of Gail’s. McWin Capital Partners is now seeking to pre-empt a sale process for the 150-store chain, according to US media firm Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.
Led by entrepreneurs Henry McGovern and Steven Winegar, McWin Capital is already an investor in Gail’s. In September 2021, the McGovern and Winegar-led private equity firm EBITDA Investment took a £200m ($251m) controlling stake in the boutique bakery-café group in partnership with New York-based Bain Capital Credit.
A potential McWin Capital buyout would likely see Bread Holdings and Bain Capital both fully exit the business. London-based Gail’s is expected to fetch up to £500m ($525m), according to sources quoted in the Sky News report.
Gail’s achieved 27.5% year-on-year group revenue growth during the 12 months ended 29 February 2024 to reach £231.7m ($294.3m).
Launched in 2016, McWin Capital focuses on pan-European foodservices and food technology investments. It owns exclusive master franchise rights for Subway in France, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as for fast-food chains Popeyes and Burger King in Eastern Europe.
McGovern is also the founder of AmRest Holdings SE, which operates over 2,300 licensed Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King outlets across Europe.