The Alchemist, the four-strong cocktail bar and restaurant concept founded by Living Ventures, is set to double its presence in Leeds.
The group, which Palatine Private Equity backed a management buyout of earlier this year, will take over from the Prohibition site in the city’s Greek Street, with an opening planned for October.
It follows the success of the Leeds Trinity Alchemist, which opened in 2013.
Simon Potts, managing director of The Alchemist, said: “Greek Street holds special memories for many people in Leeds, including myself but it’s an area that has been quiet for a number of years. We are excited to be bringing our brand of mixology to this quarter of the city centre, and in a location perfect for business meetings during the day and discerning drinkers during the evening.”
Under the terms of the deal from earlier this year, Palatine is injecting £12m of equity into the business, while Santander is providing £6.5m of capex to fund its further expansion, with three more sites, including two in central London, understood to have been lined up to open in the coming 12 months.
The brand’s management team is led by Living Ventures managing director Paul Moran, with Potts, who has been with the Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts-founded business for c10 years, becoming designate managing director.
It is envisaged that Potts will take over the reins from Moran within the next 12 months. Bacon becomes non-executive chairman of The Alchemist, which currently operates two sites in Manchester, one in the Trinity scheme in Leeds and at Bevis Marks in London.
