A handful of interested parties are believed to be left in the running to acquire a majority stake in D&D London, the owner of restaurants in the capital such as Quaglino’s, Le Pont de la Tour and Coq d’Argent.
M&C Report understands that Close Brothers and LDC are amongst the few remaining bidders for the group, which operates over 30 restaurants, including outlets in Paris, New York and Tokyo.
It is thought that bids to acquire the majority stake in the group have ranged from £50m to £60m.
As part of the process, which is being handled by Rothschild, Sir Terence Conran will sell his 51% stake in D&D, which owns the restaurants, while the existing management led by Des Gunewardena and David Loewi, who bought 49% of the restaurant group in 2006, will retain a 31% stake. Private equity group Cared Capital is also selling its 18% stake in the business.
It is understood that D&D will use the new investment to fund new London ventures and expand into India, Malaysia, Thailand, China and the Middle East.
The group is set to open its first hotel, the 80-bedroom South Place Hotel close to London’s Moorgate rail and tube station, this September.
It is also due to launch two new restaurants in the Old Bengal Warehouse near Bishopsgate
