By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
Quadrant Private Equity has purchased the Urban Purveyor Group from John Szangolies for close to $200 million.
The hospitality group has a number of venues in its portfolio, including 10 Bavarian Bier Cafés in Sydney, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. Also under the group’s umbrella are the famed Löwenbräu Keller, The Argyle, and Ananas Brasserie in Sydney; along with four Saké Restaurant & Bars, in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
John Szangolies had put his hospitality group up for sale in May. The German-born entrepreneur had started the company in the 1970s with the Löwenbräu Keller, styled on traditional German beer halls. The venue is today still a busy pub in Sydney’s The Rocks. The sale of the company was facilitated by KPMG Corporate Finance, who contacted several equity firms and trade buyers confidentially.
Urban Purveyor Group Chief Executive Officer Thomas Pash said it is an extremely exciting time for the business, which is in rapid expansion mode.
“The Quadrant team have been very impressive from the first meeting throughout the entire process. Not to mention, they really understand and love our business which is a huge asset,” Pash said.
“I am extremely bullish on what we can do to accelerate business growth over the next five years with Quadrant’s proven track record and team behind us.”
Mr Pash said Urban Purveyor Group will continue to operate under its current, strong and very experienced, management team. It is business as usual for over 1400 employees, he added.
“It’s full steam ahead for everyone,” Pash said. “This opens up a lot of exciting opportunities within the business for current and future employees.”
News of the sale comes hot off the heels of the announcement that Urban Purveyor Group plans to expand the Saké franchise, with another restaurant set to open in Melbourne, and two more casual offerings – Saké Jr. and Saké Live – to opening in Sydney in mid-2016.
“At this point, it is about taking a great brand and making it even greater,” Pash said. “It’s about finding new and better ways to show our customers a new level of food and beverage innovation and also about making the customer experience even better. It is about and delivering an unrivalled customer experience end-to-end.”